British Foreign Policy Towards The I.R. Iran With Special Reference To The Two Main British Governing Parties: 2000-2015
As was just shown, one of the most important pillars of UK foreign policy is the Anglo-American Special Relationship, regardless of what party is in power, either in the UK, or in the USA. The Anglo-American Special Relationship is a ‘high politics’ issue in both countries, and specially so in the UK. It is vital to UK foreign policy, in the last resot the UK is under ‘American ticket’, or shifts its foreign policy towards the USA.
The tension between Tehran, and Washington, eventually managed to dislodge the Labour government from its status que position of interaction with Iran, in mid 2000s, to the Anglo-American Special Relationship umbrella of confrontation with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
From the nuclear issue, to the Iranian election of 2009, now become a joint, and interfering policy in Iranian internal affairs, for both UK, and USA.
Even as far back, as 2005, while the relation between the two countries was on interactive basis, the United Kingdom was already calling for Iran to end its nuclear programme, pending on an agreement between the international community, and Iran on the issue. The UK, in 2006 voted in favor of taking the dispute to the UN Security Council. “Due to Iran’s lack of compliance with the IAEA, the United Kingdom calls for Iran to terminate its nuclear activities”19, was the voice coming out of the United Kingdom, compatible with the American policy towards Iran, now.
The British Labour government, first, under premiership of Tony Blair, and then, Gordon Brown, slipping conspicuously unilaterally towards the United States’ position, advocates sanctions against Iran’s nuclear programme, by 2008. According to Bill Rammel, the British Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in February, 2009, “Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in the next few years; Britain is prepared to impose unilateral sanctions against Iran’s nuclear programme.”20 An accusation and interference in Iranian affairs, by a government claiming to act in its foreign policy on the principle of social justice, as was seen in this chapter. A government which itself together with France, and Germany took the lead on behalf of the EU, to mediate in order to find a solution to the nuclear issue, between Iran, and the West. This is nothing but, the fact that the UK sees its overall, and ‘high politics’ interests in the context of the ‘Anglo-American Special Relationship’, as was portrayed during the course of this article. The last word which came out of London, by the then out-going British Labour Prime Minster, Gordon Brown, in the summer of 2010, was, “our country will continue to lead, with the US in our determination to prevent an Iranian nuclear weapons programme.”21
On a different front, the already deteriorating relation between Tehran, and London, was exacerbated, in June, 2009, while the nuclear issue was going on, when the Labour government of the time made, yet another interference in the internal politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and criticised the outcome of the Iranian presidential election. The Labour Prime Minister, Gordon Brown stated that, “we are with others, including the whole of the European Union unanimously today, in condemning media suppression; it is for Iran to show that the election was fair.”22
