Foreign Secretary William Hague said Friday Iran’s election was not free and fair and did not reflect the will of the people.
“It has been clear for some time that these elections would not be free and fair. The [Iranian government] has presented the vote as a test of loyalty, rather than an opportunity for people freely to choose their own representatives,” Hague said.
Addressing the first post-election session of the Majlis Monday, Larijani said, “The British government should do something about its foreign secretary because he talks a lot and makes baseless remarks. What he said about Iran’s election was raw and unwise.”
Larijani said, “This behavior of the British government proves that the Majlis decision to reduce ties with that country was a completely timely and right decision because their [Britons’] judgment indicates their political backwardness and blindness with regard to realities.”
Last November, the Majlis voted to reduce the level of diplomatic and trade ties with Britain to a minimum level. But Larijani chose to forget that the Majlis acted only after Hague had pulled all diplomatic personnel out of the country and closed the UK embassy.
Larijani also cited to President Barack Obama’s Sunday remarks about the possibility of using military forces against Iran and said Obama “had better not inflame Muslims’ sentiments anymore Ö because it is not clear they would be able to contain the sentiments of Muslims and the brave Afghan people.”
Larijani was presumably referring to the rioting in Afghanistan over the desecration of Qorans by US troops in Afghanistan.