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The ministry said London could no longer present false excuses for delaying payment of debts relating to the purchase of British tanks in the 1970s.
In a press briefing on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters that Tehran was once again pushing Britain to pay off its £400 million debt to Iran.
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Khatibzadeh said that Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani had dared to violate the topic during a visit to London where bilateral issues were discussed. The diplomat has reminded London that they can no longer delay debt payments under any pretext.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian also spoke with his British counterpart Liz Truss on Monday, who asked for immediate repayment of the debt.
Citing reports Russia Today, Tuesday (11/16/2021), Britain owes Iran around £400 million in connection with the 1971 purchase of 1,500 Chieftain tanks and armored vehicles by the government of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the pro-Western shah regime that ruled the country until the 1979 revolution.
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Britain’s state-owned International Military Services delivered 185 tanks before the revolution, but the agreement was scrapped after the seizure of the United States Embassy and a hostage crisis that engulfed decades of hostility.
While some British politicians have called for the money to be returned to Iran, others say it cannot be used as leverage by Iran for the release of British prisoners held by Tehran.
Iran said British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, along with other dual nationals, could be released if Britain paid its debts.
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