TEHRAN – A British commentator has lambasted the way London dealt with Iran in the wake of the execution of Alireza Akbari. 

In a commentary for the Guardian, Simon Tisdall criticized UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary James Cleverly for using “culturally insulting language” in condemning the execution of Akbari. 

“Culturally insulting language used by Rishi Sunak and James Cleverly will increase tension between the two countries,” Tisdall wrote. 

He touched on the emotional baggage Iranians carry in how they historically view Britain. “Britain’s relationship with Iran has a fraught, unedifying history, dating back to the 18th-century imperial tussle between England, Napoleonic France, and tsarist Russia for control of Persia. Iranians have long memories. To this day, they blame the UK for many of their woes,” the commentator wrote. 

He then scolded Sunak and Cleverly for using improper words in denouncing the execution. “Sunak and Cleverly’s ill-judged, culturally insulting condemnation of the regime as ‘barbaric’ will further raise tensions,” he wrote, adding, “Rather than making Britain sound strong and resolute, Cleverly’s choice of language smacks of powerlessness. Former Tory foreign secretaries Douglas Hurd and Lord Carrington would not have been so clumsy. But standards have fallen a lot since their time.”