Exclusive: Ed Miliband shook hands with Iranian foreign minister but did not meet any Israeli official at UN General Assembly

— Alicia Kearns MP (@aliciakearns) September 25, 2026

She wrote on X: “How dare Miliband shake Araghchi’s hand. He owes parliament, British Jews, and the Foreman family an explanation and an apology. A propaganda win for Tehran, that’s what Miliband has given Iran. This is not an ally who’s misbehaving, so you make a stern face while shaking their hand.”

Lindsey and Craig Foreman, from East Sussex, have been held in Iran for almost two years after being arrested while travelling through the Islamic Republic on a motorcycle tour.

The couple were convicted of espionage in February and sentenced to ten years in prison. Critics of the ruling, including Kearns, insist that the charges were politically motivated and that the pair are being used as diplomatic bargaining chips.

The Tory frontbencher continued: “This is the regime behind repeated attacks on our Jewish communities since 2025, attempted assassinations on our soil, cyber attacks on our nation, that murders women for raising their voices and their heads, and is holding an innocent - I will say those words even if Miliband won’t - British couple on a 10-year sentence so it can use them as leverage. Shameful.”

A Foreign Office readout said that Miliband did raise the Foremans’ detention with Araghchi and “reiterated the UK’s unwavering resolve to combat threats from Iranian-linked groups in UK soil, including attacks on the British Jewish community”.

“The foreign secretary made clear that Britain will not tolerate intimidation, threats or hostile activity on UK soil and set out the measures the government has taken in response,” the readout went on, re-emphasising the need to open the Strait of Hormuz and urging Iran to “choose de-escalation and diplomacy instead of prolonging the war”.

However, the JC can reveal that Miliband did not have any meetings with Israeli officials during the General Assembly, even though much of his social media content during the trip has focused on Gaza.

On Yom Kippur, Miliband posted a video in which he boasted about Britain “calling out what was happening in Gaza and the West Bank and taking action.

The foreign secretary also met with anti-Israel mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, on Wednesday, a meeting he described as “great”.

He continued: “Progressive parties are so much stronger when we learn from and stand with each other - from the cost of living to climate action to peace in Israel and Palestine.”

In August, Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, accused Mamdani of “spreading blasphemy, hate, antisemitic rhetoric” shortly after the mayor called Benjamin Netanyahu “a war criminal” and “the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people”.

Yesterday, Miliband also announced that the UK would pledge £88m for humanitarian and early recovery support in the Gaza Strip.

In response, Andrew Fox, a former Parachute Regiment officer and senior associate fellow at centre-right think-tank the Henry Jackson Society, shared a screenshot of a news article of the announcement alongside a different news story from earlier this month which reported that the British Army was stopping training exercises to save money.

Fox described the situation as a “f***ing joke”.

The Foreign Office has been contacted for comment.