The United Kingdom summoned Iran's ambassador on Tuesday after the consulate in London urged its nationals to "sacrifice for the homeland". A Telegram message, published by the consulate of the Islamic Republic, invited them to express "their loyalty and national pride" as part of a solidarity campaign.

Published on: 04/29/2026 - 4:21 p.m. Modified on: 04/29/2026 - 5:11 p.m.

The United Kingdom summoned the Iranian ambassador to London on Tuesday April 28 after the Iranian consulate broadcast an appeal to its nationals living in the country to “sacrifice for their homeland”.

In a message published on its Telegram account on April 15, the consulate called on its “compatriots residing in the United Kingdom” to join a campaign launched by the Iranian authorities, called “sacrifice for the homeland”.

In Iran, for example, it led dozens of people to form human chains to protect the country's power plants from Israeli-American strikes, according to images broadcast by state media in early April.

Read alsoMiddle East live: the Iranians “better get smart, and quickly!”, threatens Trump

The Telegram message calls on Iranian nationals in London to "unite to express their solidarity, loyalty and national pride", by registering to participate in this campaign, with a link to the consulate's website.

“An incitement to violence”

The Secretary of State for the Middle East, Hamish Falconer, "made it clear that these actions and comments were completely unacceptable and that the embassy must cease any communication that could be interpreted as inciting violence in the United Kingdom or abroad," the British Foreign Office said in a statement.

British intelligence regularly warns of actions and threats by Iranian authorities against opponents based in the United Kingdom. The country is home to a large Iranian diaspora and London has been the scene of demonstrations by opponents of the Islamic Republic since the start of the conflict.

Furthermore, the police are investigating a group called Harakat al-Yamin al-Islamiyya (Hayi), suspected of being pro-Iran, which has claimed responsibility for recent fires and attempted fires against places linked to the Jewish community in London, and against the premises of the Persian-language television station Iran International, classified as a terrorist organization by Tehran.

With AFP

Keywords associated with the article

The content you are trying to access does not exist or is no longer available.