Britain’s Conservative Party announced on September 5 that Liz Truss would serve as the nation’s next prime minister, succeeding Boris Johnson.
Truss took the helm at 10 Downing Street only three days before Queen Elizabeth II passed away, becoming the 56th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the third female Prime Minister in the nation’s history, following Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May.
We shall attempt to briefly evaluate Truss’ rise to power and its ramifications for Anglo-Iranian relations.
According to political observers, the United Kingdom’s detrimental policies have torpedoed the Iranian nuclear talks in the past years.
Although Truss did not put hurdles in resolving the £400 million row with Iran over a cancelled Chieftain tank order, she did not contribute a positive role in lifting illegitimate sanctions against Iran.
In addition, she held two political meetings at the level of the foreign ministers of the G7 and the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) in the wake of the Vienna talks. She made outrageous and provocative remarks in an attempt to intensify the pressure on the Iranian negotiating team.
Truss was among the British officials that supported Trump rather than taking countermeasures in response to the US unlawful withdrawal from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
During her final debate, she pledged that, if elected, her administration’s first priority would be to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons while reiterating London’s unwavering support for the Zionist regime.
The Iranian government has consistently refuted the bogus and baseless allegations against its peaceful nuclear programme.
It is not difficult to fathom the rationale behind Truss’ anti-Iran approach, as she is infamous for her close ties to Tel Aviv and for sharing similar views with Zionist officials, to the point where many in diplomatic circles perceive her as Israel’s mouthpiece in the UK.
It seems that ties between Tehran and London will remain strained with no détente looming on the horizon.
Therefore, it is safe to surmise that Truss’ ascension to the top rung of the British political ladder will not dramatically shift London’s wrong attitude vis-à-vis the Iranian nuclear dossier.