British Foreign Policy Towards The I.R. Iran With Special Reference To The Two Main British Governing Parties: 2000-2015
There was, however, a setback in relations between the United Kingdom, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, in 2002, when, the London chosen man to Iran, as the UK’s ambassador, was turned down, on charges of being a spy.
However, the diplomatic relation patched up, and from the onwards gradually, as time progressed, trade between the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the United Kingdom picked up. According to statistics, given by Herald Tribune on 22 January, 2006, “British export to Iran rose from £296 million in 2000 to £443.8 million in 2004.”16 A Labour spokesperson for UK Trade, and Investment was quoted as saying that “Iran has become more attractive.”17
On the above improved trade bases, it, was, that the Labour government subsequently took the lead together with France, and Germany on behalf of the European Union to mediate, over the nuclear issue, between Tehran and the UN, and the United States, as it were. The mediation was typical Labour foreign policy, compatible with the socialist foreign policy ideology of the Labour party, a compromising move, in the context of the Labour trusteeship attitudes towards foreign policy, which was pointed at, earlier on in this article. First the move attempted to protect British economic interests, as isolation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, due to any further forthcoming new sanction, will damage British economy (and the EU as a whole). Second, British relation with the US, in the context of the Anglo-American Special Relation, would stay intact, as the US was not happy to see trade improvement between its main ally, and Iran, in the midst of US, Iran crisis. Third, and most important of all, the gradual, and patient approach towards the re-establishment of relations with Iran, as oppose to pugnacious Conservative approach towards foreign policy, generally practiced during the previously Thatcher administration era.
On a separate front, before proceeding any further, a rapid, and brief mentioning of the Anglo-American Special Relationship, must take place, since any study of British foreign policy in the contemporary period without taking the Anglo-American Special Relationship into consideration would be pointless.
Ever since the Second World War, until now that is the almost the end of the second decade of the twenty first century, 2017, one of the pillars of British foreign policy has been the Anglo-American Special Relationship (the other two being relation with Europe, and the British Commonwealth).
A positively Churchillian foreign policy, which the British Labour party leaders have had very little disagreement, if any, with the British Conservative party leaders (as Churchill was a well-known Conservative).
During the Second World War in the Coalition government, in the United Kingdom, both Labour and Conservative, Attlee, Bevin, and Churchill took the view that an alliance with the United States was essential. This was prompted in particular by the fear of the threat posed by the communist expansionist policy of the Soviet Union to British interests, not least in the Commonwealth.
