Iranian Hunger Striker In London Finally Invited To Foreign Office
The Iranian hunger striker demanding the proscription of the IRGC was invited to the British Foreign Office on the 62nd day of his protest action.
The Iranian hunger striker demanding the proscription of the IRGC was invited to the British Foreign Office on the 62nd day of his protest action.
Vahid Beheshti has been on a hunger strike in London since February 23 outside the UK Foreign Office to raise awareness for the need to designate the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
On Tuesday, Beheshti was invited to the Foreign Office in central London, where he is camped, to speak to Tariq Ahmad, Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia.
“We discussed the UK’s sanctioning of four more IRGC Commanders yesterday, and the importance of taking further steps and actually proscribing the IRGC as a terrorist organization,” Beheshti wrote in a tweet.
He urged that sanctioning individuals who do not leave Iran is not an effective means of stopping the IRGC’s terrorist activities.
Having survived 62 days on water, coffee, and sugar cubes, 45-year-old Vahid Beheshti can no longer walk.
Last week, a group of 125 British MPs signed a letter backing Beheshti’s calls.
Several countries including the UK and EU have been cautious to designate the IRGC for fear it will further alienate the regime and in turn, limit negotiating capacity regarding its nuclear program.
In December, members of the UK House of Commons unanimously voted for a motion that urges the government to proscribe the IRGC, but it has split the House.
