Labour says it will not ‘leap to judgement’ by condemning Iran over street protests, sparking Tory attack

'We don’t want to leap to judgement and say, 'well we don’t like the regime in Iran, these people are against it, they must be the guys with white hats', because it doesn’t work like that'

Iranian protesters chant slogans at a rally in Tehran, Iran (AP)

Labour says it will not “leap to judgement” by condemning the Iranian government over deaths following street protests in the country, provoking Conservative criticism.

Emily Thornberry, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, argued it would be a mistake to see one side in the violent clashes as “the guys with white hats” – calling instead for a cautious approach.

A rush to similar conclusions in other flashpoint countries such as Syria, Libya and Egypt had backfired later, she warned.

But Tom Tugendhat, the Tory chairman of the cross-party Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, described Labour’s position as “extraordinary”.

It was “hardly a knee-jerk reaction” to condemn the Iranian regime, which had been brutalising women and murdering gay people for 40 years, he claimed.

The clash came as the US was criticised for convening the UN Security Council over the events in Iran. Russia and France were among countries suggesting the protests were an internal affair, which did not threaten the world’s security.

At least 21 people have been killed since demonstrations broke out last month in the city of Mashhad and around 450 have been arrested.

They were initially sparked by anger about price rises and corruption, but soon spread to a number of cities and started to include wider anti-government grievances.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn – who has carried out paid work for a TV station backed by the Iranian government in the past – has yet to say anything in public about the situation.

Appearing on the BBC’s Political Thinking podcast, Ms Thornberry defended her party’s failure to speak out for those protesting against Iran’s authoritarian government.

“Our approach now is one of extreme caution when it comes to Iran, and a recognition that the society in Iran is an immensely complex one, and seemingly contradictory,” she said.

“For example, with these current riots, sometimes they are calling to reinstate the monarchy, sometimes they’re calling out against the Khameini [the Supreme Leader], sometimes they’re calling for Khameini, sometimes they’re calling for the price of eggs.

“It’s very difficult in those circumstances to actually come to a conclusion as to what political forces are behind the current disputes on the streets of Iran, so we take a cautious approach.”

Ms Thornberry added: “We don’t want to leap to judgement and say, ‘well we don’t like the regime in Iran, these people are against it, they must be the guys with white hats’, because it doesn’t work like that.

“We’ve seen that in Syria, we’ve seen it in Libya, we see it time and time again in Egypt. We cannot simply impose our views on people who are fighting against, you know, Mubarak, who we don’t like.”

Later, in a Facebook post, Ms Thornberry – while sticking to her stance – stressed that she was “appalled by the reported violence” and called for peaceful protesters to be “released promptly”.

“There is a particular responsibility on the Iranian authorities to show restraint in their policing, to allow peaceful, democratic protests to proceed, and to enable a proper dialogue so that all political and economic grievances can be raised and resolved,” she wrote.

“Peaceful protest should never be treated as a crime, and to do so will only worsen the sense of grievance among those who have taken to the streets in recent days.”

Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, has urged Iranian leaders to “debate the legitimate and important issues” raised by the protesters.

Meanwhile, the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has declared the defeat of the “sedition” in the country, referring to the demonstrations.

Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari made the announcement as tens of thousands of people attended pro-government rallies called to counter the unrest – the most serious since the disputed 2009 presidential election.