Iran summoned the British ambassador Saturday to protest against “interference” by Prime Minister Theresa May after she told Gulf leaders she would help counter the country’s influence in the region.
Nicholas Hopton was told by a senior Iranian diplomat that “irresponsible, provocative and divisive comments by Theresa May at the (Gulf) summit are unacceptable and we reject them,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said, quoted by state television’s website.
“It is expected that such unacceptable remarks will not be made again.”
Addressing a summit of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Bahrain, May on Wednesday reaffirmed British support for traditional allies in the region and said her country would help “push back against Iran’s aggressive regional actions.”
In a joint statement, GCC states and Britain agreed to a “strategic partnership” and said they “oppose and will work together to counter Iran’s destabilizing activities.”
Iran and Britain reopened their respective embassies in 2015 following a nuclear deal with world powers, after four years of strained ties.
The two states appointed ambassadors in September for the first time since 2011.

Source: Arab News