UK foreign secretary under fire over handshake with Iranian foreign minister

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband faced backlash after he shook hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during a meeting off the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The encounter occurred on Thursday as they discussed the Middle East conflict, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and threats linked to Iran on British soil.

Shadow Foreign Office Secretary Tom Tugendhat criticized the meeting, calling it "legitimising a regime that has often tried to harm our people." He argued that Iran has murdered protesters, threatened allies, and armed terror groups like the Houthis. Tugendhat dismissed the handshake as a form of grandstanding and claimed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps actually runs Iran.

Alicia Kearns, a Shadow Foreign Office minister, also condemned the meeting, stating it was a "propaganda win for Tehran." However, the UK Foreign Office insisted Miliband used the meeting to express Britain's stance against intimidation, threats, and hostile activity from Iran-related groups.