BERLIN: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz strongly criticized the Iranian government Saturday for its bloody crackdown on protests in the country said Germany stands “shoulder to shoulder with the Iranian people.”
Scholz said the ongoing protests sparked by the Sept. 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini following her detention by Iran’s morality police were no longer “merely a question of dress codes” but had evolved into a fight for freedom and justice.

LONDON: The UK and France condemned on Friday Iran’s violent repression of legitimate peaceful protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini.

Amini, who had been arrested by the morality police, died on Sep. 16 while in custody.

During talks held in Paris, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna also condemned Tehran for supplying Russia with drones used to indiscriminately target civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.

LONDON: The UK Royal Navy is deploying four ships to the Gulf as part of security steps around the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, as the country looks to an international coalition to ensure security for the competition.

Three British minehunters and an auxiliary support ship based in Bahrain will take part in regular patrols throughout the tournament.

LONDON: British missiles sent to help Ukraine that may be captured by Russia and passed on to Iran for reverse engineering purposes are not a major concern for the UK, its defense secretary has said. 

Ben Wallace told Sky News that it is a known risk that Russia could send captured British anti-tank missiles meant for Ukraine to Iran, but that it is not a huge cause for concern as the missiles do not contain cutting-edge technology. 

LONDON: Jordan’s King Abdullah and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met in London on Friday to discuss the development of strategic relations between their countries.
The king expressed Jordan’s keenness to advance its friendly ties with the UK and bolster cooperation in the political, economic and defense fields, Jordan News Agency reported.