Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has denounced the display of a drone in the British Parliament allegedly linked to Tehran, calling it “a pathetic show” staged by the Israeli lobby and its backers.
In a post written in Polish on X, Araghchi said, “The exhibition in the British Parliament of a drone falsely and maliciously attributed to Iran is a pathetic scene staged by the Israeli lobby and its sponsors.”
He added that “those hostile to friendly relations between Iran and Europe are creating fabricated narratives that do not reflect the historical ties -- including between Iran and Poland.”
Araghchi added that Tehran remained ready to engage in technical talks and exchange of documents to clarify the facts, dismissing what he called “an absurd performance.”
The remarks came days after Iran summoned Poland’s chargé d’affaires in Tehran to protest Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski’s participation in an event in London that featured a Shahed-136 drone allegedly used by Russia in its war in Ukraine.
The display, organized by the US-based advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), was held at the Houses of Parliament and attended by Western and Ukrainian officials.
Tehran condemned the exhibition as a politically motivated act, accusing organizers of spreading “baseless and repetitive accusations” about Iran’s drone program.
Iran says it supplied drones to Russia before the war began, but denies providing weapons for use in Ukraine. Western governments and Kyiv say Iranian-designed Shahed drones, now produced in Russia under the name Geran, have played a key role in Moscow’s air strikes.
Araghchi’s statement also followed a sharp exchange between Tehran and London over British intelligence claims of Iranian-linked plots on UK soil. MI5 chief Ken McCallum said last week that more than 20 Iran-related operations had been disrupted over the past year, describing Tehran as one of the UK’s most active hostile state actors.
