Priest Faces Probe Under Iceland’s Conversion Therapy Ban

The Roman Catholic cathedral Landakot in Reykjavík, Iceland
photograph by Christian Bickel, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Reykjavik police are evaluating statements made by Catholic priest Fr. Jakob Rolland in an interview with the Icelandic broadcaster RÚV that have been interpreted by critics as an intention to violate the country’s law prohibiting ‘conversion therapy.’

In 2024, the broadly worded law—which bans performing or offering to perform therapy intended to change or suppress sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression—was enshrined after being passed almost unanimously (53-0 with three abstentions and seven absences) by parliament in 2023. The law applies not only to professionals but to all persons. 

Fr. Rolland said that while the church does not offer organized therapy specifically aimed at changing anyone’s sexual orientation, it will not turn away homosexuals seeking guidance in the matter and will offer participation in the daily life of the congregation, worship, and prayer. That lines up with the official position of the Catholic Church—not offering medical treatment but providing spiritual and moral guidance.

“Everyone who comes to church has their problems and sins, struggling to some degree with bad tendencies towards something,” Fr. Rolland said in the interview. 

“Sexual orientation is only one factor among many that concern an individual’s tendencies towards some lifestyle that is not good for the individual and not good for society,” he said, adding that ‘conversion’—a change of heart—“is a key word in the daily life of Catholic people. We are constantly in the position of turning away from what is evil towards what is good.”

Iceland’s justice minister has asked the Office of Equality Affairs to review the scope of conversion therapy, as recommended three years ago by the General and Education Committee. Helga Vala Helgadóttir, sponsor of the committee’s opinion on the ban, says religious groups in Iceland—not only the Catholic Church—should be investigated.

Fr. Rolland’s case validates concerns expressed not only in Iceland but in other jurisdictions where similar legislation has been considered. In early March, the EU’s LIBE committee held hearings on the idea of banning ‘conversion therapy’ across the bloc, and it is a priority of the EU LGBTIQ+ Equality Strategy 2026–2030.

Critics of the proposed EU ban point out that it risks blurring the line between coercion and legitimate therapeutic, spiritual, or parental engagement. The proposed ban also risks encroaching on both religious freedom and freedom of speech.

Ashley Frawley, visiting research fellow at the think tank MCC Brussels, said, “Public debate understandably focuses on disturbing historical cases involving coercion or degrading treatment. But the definitions now being advanced go much further. There is a real risk that broad, ambiguous legislation could suppress lawful therapeutic practice and penalise families acting in good faith.”

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Belgian PM De Wever attacks past nuclear policy, will leave country paying ‘for a century’

Bart De Wever: ‘Across Europe there is finally once again strong support for a nuclear component within the energy mix.’ Screen grab youtube

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has launched a sharp attack in parliament on past energy policy, warning that decisions to phase out nuclear power could saddle the country with costs “for an entire century”.

Speaking during a parliamentary exchange on energy policy yesterday, De Wever said earlier governments had left Belgium in a weak negotiating position as it attempts to reverse course and rebuild its nuclear capacity.

The PM criticised the legacy he said his government inherited when taking office.

“Every closet you open in government buildings, a skeleton falls out — and not always something pleasant,” he told MPs.

In the case of nuclear policy, he said the government had been confronted with “hundreds of pages” from the so-called Phoenix deal negotiated by his predecessor, which he said constrained current negotiations and forced the government to proceed step by step.

“If the history of that nuclear exit and the Phoenix deal is ever written,” he said, “I think it will lead to a devastating judgement for those responsible. I think there are few government leaders who have saddled a country with bills for a whole century.”

His remarks came as the government pushes ahead with plans to return nuclear power to the centre of Belgium’s energy mix after abandoning the long-standing phase-out policy.

De Wever said the shift reflected a wider change across Europe, citing remarks by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen acknowledging that the continent had made “very big mistakes” by reducing nuclear capacity in recent decades.

“Across Europe there is finally once again strong support for a nuclear component within the energy mix,” De Wever said, adding that only a few years ago a pro-nuclear stance left politicians “virtually isolated” in Belgium.

He argued that geopolitical shocks, particularly the Russian invasion of Ukraine, had exposed the risks of relying on imported fossil fuels and undermined earlier plans that depended heavily on gas-fired power plants.

De Wever called this a green “naive dream”.

“The illusion that we could manage with a mix of renewables and occasional gas plants is a fairy tale for children,” he said.

He reminded the parliament that other politicians in Belgium had claimed that nuclear was “a corpse that couldn’t be reanimated anymore”.

Belgium’s new strategy centres on maintaining existing reactors for as long as possible while exploring the development of new nuclear capacity, including small modular reactors (SMRs).

The government is currently negotiating with French-owned operator Engie about further extensions to Belgium’s nuclear fleet, although De Wever acknowledged the talks were difficult because of commitments made under earlier agreements.

He said he had also discussed the issue with French President Emmanuel Macron on the margins of a nuclear summit in Paris, noting that France remains Europe’s leading nuclear power and a potential partner in future projects.

De Wever added that Belgium was also exploring co-operation with neighbouring countries such as the Netherlands as interest in nuclear energy grows across Europe.

The Prime Minister said the government’s coalition agreement now clearly states that nuclear power has a long-term future in Belgium alongside renewable energy.

“For the first time this century,” he told MPs, “this government says very clearly that nuclear energy has a future here — a future of affordable, reliable and sustainable energy.”

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Cuba Rising: Angry Residents Storm Communist Headquarters in Morón, Burn Regime Furniture and Propaganda

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Cuba’s long simmering anger toward its communist rulers exploded into flames Friday night as furious residents of the town of Morón reportedly set fire to a local headquarters of the Communist Party of Cuba.

Videos circulating on social media show crowds gathering outside the party building in Morón, a municipality in the province of Ciego de Ávila, where protesters reportedly ripped out furniture and propaganda materials before piling them into the street and setting them on fire, CiberCuba reported.

“The people of Morón set fire to the headquarters of the Communist Party, a symbol of the oppression from 67 years of the Castro family’s dictatorship,” wrote Cuban journalist Mario J. Pentón.

Tensions escalated dramatically when protesters gathered outside the Communist Party building. Demonstrators allegedly entered the headquarters, removed political materials and furniture, and built a large bonfire in the street before flames spread toward the building itself.

Videos from the scene show crowds banging pots and pans.

The situation reportedly turned violent when a police officer allegedly fired a weapon during the confrontation.

Pentón wrote, “This video is chilling: a young man wrapped in the Cuban flag burning down the Communist Party building, a symbol of the tyranny that has oppressed #Cuba for 67 years. Shortly afterward, henchmen in the service of the tyranny shoot one of these young men.”

“This is how the repressive forces arrived in Morón. There is at least one injured person, according to the testimonies I received from the scene before they cut off the internet connection,” Pentón wrote.

Pentón added, “10 black berets (special services for repression) beat a boy nearly to death,” a neighbor in Morón, Ciego de Ávila, tells me. A crowd set fire to the Communist Party headquarters, a symbol of tyranny.”

A resident from Morón gave update to Pentón, saying, “I’m writing to you from Morón, in Ciego de Ávila. Look at how they’re repressing the people just for demanding freedom. The regime’s forces went down the entire avenue firing shots. Right now, there are several people detained and others injured.”

The dramatic scenes quickly drew a reaction from U.S. RINO Congressman Carlos A. Giménez (R-FL), who represents a large Cuban exile community in South Florida.

Gimenez wrote on X:

“The people of #Cuba have just set fire to the Communist Party’s Headquarters in the eastern town of #Morón.
The Cuban people have had enough of the brutal dictatorship!”

Gimenez, who was born in Havana and later fled communist Cuba with his family, has long been a vocal critic of the regime in Havana.

Activists and residents on social media reported that the uprising has now entered its eighth consecutive night of protests, with the movement spreading beyond Morón.

Agustín Antonetti wrote on X, “This is exciting. Freedom is starting to be felt in Cuba. Eighth consecutive night of protests, but it’s already beginning to be massive. The entire town of Ciego de Ávila is in the streets. The people united against the dictatorship. Let the whole world see these images.”

The Communist Party has ruled Cuba since the 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro, followed by decades of leadership by the Castro family and their political allies.

The uprising comes at a moment of intense geopolitical pressure on the Cuban government.

President Donald Trump and Marco Rubio are currently involved in negotiations with Cuban officials as the regime struggles to survive its worsening economic collapse.

Trump recently said Cuba is seeking a deal with the United States and suggested that an agreement could be reached quickly as the island’s leadership faces mounting pressure.

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UK: Migrants ‘to be handed 40 per cent of new homes by 2030’

Nearly four in 10 new homes built by 2030 will be needed to accommodate migrants arriving in Britain, according to fresh analysis.

The research, conducted by the Conservative Party, draws on projections from the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) latest Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

According to the OBR, net migration between 2026 and 2030 is expected to reach almost 1.2 million people.

Using ONS data on average household size, the Conservatives estimate this would require around just under 500,000 additional homes for new arrivals alone.

Britain is projected to deliver about 1.34 million new homes over the same period.

The Conservatives say this means 37.1 per cent of all homes built over the next five years would be needed to house migrants.

By 2030, that proportion is forecast to rise to 39.1 per cent.

Government figures also suggest migration-driven demand could increase property prices by around £9,489 per home.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “High immigration has real consequences for rents, house prices and who gets access to new homes.”

He added: “Labour has opened the door without any plan to deal with the consequences.”

Meanwhile, Shadow Housing Secretary Sir James Cleverly said: “Labour can promise a building spree, but the OBR’s own figures show more than a third of those homes will be absorbed by migration before local families even get a look in.

“That is why young people feel permanently locked out and local communities feel under strain.”

Sir James also pledged to tackle housing demand pressures by abolishing stamp duty and removing illegal migrants within seven days.

A spokesman for the Government said: “We are pulling every lever to build 1.5 million homes, restore the dream of homeownership and end the housing crisis we inherited.

“This is alongside the biggest overhaul of Britain’s settlement model in 50 years, to tackle the unacceptably high levels of net migration in recent years which under this government, is down by nearly 70 percent.”

In December, it was revealed that asylum seekers are set to be housed in newly built council homes as part of the Government’s push to end the use of migrant hotels.

Up to 200 local authorities are reportedly interested in the scheme, while five councils – Labour-run Brighton and Hove, Hackney, Peterborough and Thanet, along with Labour-Liberal Democrat-run Powys – have confirmed their involvement, according to The i Paper.

The pilot programme would provide £100million in additional funding to build new homes or refurbish derelict properties to house asylum seekers.

Some council leaders are said to favour effectively “renationalising” asylum accommodation rather than relying on private contractors, and welcome the prospect of expanding their housing portfolios.

In 2024, more than 1.3 million people were on social housing waiting lists in England – the highest figure since 2014.

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German police raid AfD lawmaker’s home over years-old social media posts

Police and prosecutors in Munich carried out searches on Friday morning at the private residence and Bavarian State Parliament office of AfD lawmaker René Dierkes, reportedly in connection with alleged insults and social media posts dating back several years.

Dierkes, 34, who represents the Munich-East constituency in the Bavarian State Parliament, said the investigation concerns satirical posts and memes published roughly two years ago on his X account by a staff member who has since left his employment. He said authorities are also examining an alleged insult attributed to him by a former party member, which reportedly dates back five years.

In a statement released after the search, Dierkes described the investigation as politically motivated and accused rivals of attempting to discredit him.

“The background is posts on my X account that are about two years old and were written by an employee who no longer works for me,” he said, adding that an internal party rival who previously sought public office had launched “a defamation campaign against my person.”

“I will take action against this political witch hunt,” he said.

According to reporting from Bild, police officers appeared at both Dierkes’ Munich residence and his parliamentary office as part of the operation. The exact legal basis for the search was initially unclear, and the Munich public prosecutor’s office had not immediately issued a detailed statement explaining the move.

AfD state chairman Stephan Protschka sharply criticized the action, suggesting it reflected political bias by authorities. “It is supposedly about alleged insults. In my view, this is a humiliating decision by the authorities against the opposition,” Protschka told Bild.

The search has raised additional questions because the Bavarian State Parliament did not formally vote to lift Dierkes’ parliamentary immunity beforehand. According to Bild, investigators proceeded under a “simplified procedure,” a legal mechanism that allows searches without a prior parliamentary vote in certain cases.

Dierkes, who was elected to the Bavarian legislature in October 2023 and serves as chairman of the AfD’s Munich-East district association, has been under observation by Bavaria’s domestic intelligence service since April 2025.

The monitoring followed a review by the Bavarian State Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which concluded that surveillance was “proportionate.” According to a response by the Bavarian state government to parliamentary inquiries from Green and Social Democratic lawmakers, officials identified statements by Dierkes that allegedly promoted “an ethnic concept of the people contrary to human dignity” and demanded “remigration in an unconstitutional manner,” as cited by BR24 last year.

Authorities also cited his significant reach on social media and his role as a prominent figure within the AfD’s regional leadership structure. The social media reach point is contentious — Dierkes has just 6,800 followers on X and 5,600 followers on Facebook.

Dierkes has firmly rejected the state office’s interpretation of his remarks and threatened legal action last year.

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Hungary To Declassify Bombshell National Security Report Proving Globalist Opposition to Viktor Orbán Is Illegally Funded by Ukraine

Orbán is painted for war in the run-up to next month’s general elections.

Orbán will expose Ukraine’s disruption of the Hungarian election.

Next month, Hungarians will decide the future of the Eastern European nation: will they remain on the nationalistic and conservative path they have been on for the last 14 years, or will they embrace the Globalist opposition?

Péter Magyar and his Tisza party are the darlings of the EU establishment, bound to bring all the suicidal Brussels policies: unchecked mass migration, LGBT propaganda, ‘Net Zero’ insane environmental regulations, total funding for Ukraine military… the list is long and sad.

But Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is not giving up without a fight, facing the EU and Ukraine for stopping the flow of Russian oil to Hungary, as you can read in: ORBÁN FIGHTS BACK: Hungary Blocks $106 Billion EU Loan to Ukraine Until Zelensky Allows Flow of Russian Oil Through Druzhba Pipeline To Resume

Nillions of dollars and gold bars were confiscated from Ukrainians in Hungary.

He also unleashed his Law Enforcement to disrupt illegal money transit from Kiev to fund his opposition, as you can read in: WATCH: Hungarian Counter Terrorism Forces Arrest 7 Ukrainians Suspected of Money Laundering, Seize $80 Million and 9 Kilograms of Gold.

And now, Orbán directed his government to declassify a national security report that claims to prove his main political challenger, Péter Magyar, received illegal financing from Ukraine.

Associated Press reported:

“Prime Minister Viktor Orbán faces the biggest political challenge of his career in next month’s elections, where he is trailing in most polls behind his center-right opponent, Péter Magyar and his Tisza party.

[…] Orbán has repeatedly claimed that Ukraine is financing Tisza, without providing evidence for his accusations. In an interview on commercial broadcaster ATV last week, the nationalist leader said ‘significant’ sums had been provided to Tisza by Ukraine for the development of IT applications and voter mobilization efforts.”

Hungary to declassify national security report that supposedly PROVES that PM Orbán’s main opponent is FINANCED by Ukraine — APnews

‘Not assumptions, but facts’, claims PM

Orbán has repeatedly said that his top rival Tisza party takes illegal money from the Zelensky regime pic.twitter.com/5LB2BijLtu

— RT (@RT_com) March 13, 2026

Magyar and his Tisza party deny the allegations.

“Orbán added that his claims were ‘not assumptions, but facts’ he had seen in a national security committee report, and encouraged journalists to request the report be declassified.”

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Manfred Weber’s Hungarian Allies Embroiled in Nazi Salute Scandal

Screengrab youtube

A photograph showing a senior figure from Hungary’s opposition Tisza Party performing a Nazi salute has triggered a fresh political controversy just weeks before the country’s parliamentary election.

The image, published on Friday, March 13th by Hungarian weekly Hetek, shows Zsolt Tárkányi, the party’s press chief and parliamentary candidate, marching among football ultras while raising his arm in a gesture widely associated with Nazi symbolism.

The photograph was taken in 2006 during a procession by the DVSC football club supporters’ ultra group Szívtiprók Ultras Debrecen.

The group has previously drawn criticism for extremist behaviour in the 2000s and 2010s, including antisemitic chants heard in football stadiums. In the image obtained by the Hungarian publication, several participants raise their arms, while Tárkányi partially covers his face with a scarf.

The weekly said it had verified the image with three separate artificial-intelligence detection tools, all of which suggested with more than 90% probability that the photograph had not been digitally manipulated.

The Tisza Party later acknowledged that Tárkányi is indeed the person shown in the photograph but said that the gesture visible in the picture was not a Nazi salute but a common gesture used by football fans.

Neither the party, nor Tárkányi apologised, and the episode could prove damaging for the opposition alliance led by Péter Magyar, whose relatively new Tisza Party has emerged as the main challenger to conservative prime minister Viktor Orbán ahead of Hungary’s April 12 election.

Tárkányi, who previously worked as a journalist at RTL, was appointed the party’s press chief in 2025. He is also running as Tisza’s candidate in Debrecen, a major eastern Hungarian city traditionally considered a stronghold of Orbán’s governing Fidesz party.

The photo comes at a sensitive moment for the opposition movement, which has already faced scrutiny over scandals surrounding its leadership.

Earlier this year, Magyar himself became embroiled in a political storm after acknowledging he had attended a party where “drug-like substances” were present, though he denied consuming them.

In 2024, he was involved in a late-night altercation at a Budapest nightclub, during which he forcibly took a mobile phone from a man filming him and later threw it into the Danube—an incident that led to a police investigation.

He has also faced repeated allegations of aggressive behaviour towards former partners—Evelin Vogel and his ex-wife, former Justice Minister Judit Varga.

Despite these controversies, the Tisza Party continues to receive strong backing from Europe’s centre-right establishment. The party is a member of the European People’s Party (EPP), the largest political group in the European Parliament.

Magyar’s political allies in Brussels have proven reliable. In October 2025, the European Parliament—dominated by the EPP and its liberal partners—voted to keep his parliamentary immunity intact, blocking Hungarian authorities from pursuing multiple legal cases against him.

EPP president Manfred Weber has publicly expressed confidence that the party could defeat Orbán’s government in the upcoming vote. Speaking earlier this year in Brussels, Weber said he had personally encouraged Magyar to join the EPP and described the Hungarian opposition as having a realistic chance of victory.

Weber said at the time

I’m proud that the EPP party is today the party who has a chance to win in Hungary

before adding that the EPP works only with partners who are “pro-Europe, pro-Ukraine, and pro-rule of law.”

April’s vote is widely seen as a defining contest over Hungary’s political direction, with Viktor Orbán framing the choice as one between national sovereignty—something his party, Fidesz strives for—and deeper alignment with European Union institutions.

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German state broadcaster lies about Fukushima deaths

The destroyed city of Otsuchi in March 2011: If you died here, 230 km North of the Fukushima nuclear plant, you died in a nuclear catastrophe according to German State TV. Wikimedia Commons, U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Dylan McCord, PD US Navy

On the 15th anniversary of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Germany public broadcasters have been caught misrepresenting the almost 20,000 people who died in the catastrophe as victims of the Fukushima “nuclear catastrophe”.

That is despite the fact that that just one death was caused by the incident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, according to Japanese officials.

On March 11, 2026, Bayrischer Rundfunk – a subsidiary of German state broadcaster ARD – wrote in its news section: “Japan commemorates the victims of the nuclear catastrophe of Fukushima. Throughout the country people lay down flowers and wreaths for the circa 20,000 dead.”

The misrepresentation had nuclear experts up in arms. Anna Vero Wendland, a pro-nuclear German science writer, accused the public broadcaster of disseminating “disinformation or fearmongering”.

It is not the first time that Germany’s public broadcasters have conflated tsunami casualties as supposed radiation deaths.

In 2023, ARD’s main news show Tagesschau wrote on its website: “The Fukushima nuclear power station, situated by the sea, was struck by a tsunami nearly 15 metres high shortly after a major earthquake on 11 March 2011.

“The plant’s cooling system failed, leading to a meltdown in three of the six reactors. It was the worst nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl catastrophe of 1986, claiming the lives of around 18,500 people.”

Similarly, in 2017 ARD subsidiary MDR wrote of the catastrophe: “Today, Japan remembers the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe in March 2011. Back then, 18,500 people died.”

The 9.0 magnitude earthquake on March 11, 2011, caused a powerful tsunami which hit the east coast of Japan. The monster wave destroyed more than 120,000 buildings – and damaged almost 1 million more , killing almost 20,000 people.

The floodwaters also caused a blackout at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, situated right on the coast around 200km north of Tokyo. That halted critical cooling systems, causing meltdowns in three of the plant’s six nuclear reactors.

While radioactive material was released, causing the temporary evacuation of more than 150,000 residents, only one person’s death was officially attributed to the nuclear incident: The death of a worker of cancer in 2018.

The tendency of German media to misrepresent the tsunami victims as casualties of a nuclear disaster may well have a political component.

The Fukushima meltdown motivated then-German chancellor Angela Merkel to implement Germany’s nuclear phaseout.

The country shut down its last nuclear plants in 2023. As a consequence, Germans pay some of Europe’s highest prices for electricity while electricity generation relies mainly on pollutant fossil power plants such as coal and gas-fired facilities.

Nuclear safety expert Rainer Moormann surmised in January 2025: “Without the lies after Fukushima of tens of thousands of dead and the panic caused thusly, many German nuclear power plants would still be running.”

Contrary to Germany, Japan has brought its own nuclear power stations back online in the years since the tsunami. As of March 2026, 15 nuclear reactors have so-far passed the new stricter safety standards and are again delivering power.

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‘He killed her with his bare hands’ — Syrian teenager arrested on suspicion of murdering 19-year-old woman in Mannheim

Karlstern – Google Maps

A 17-year-old Syrian national has been arrested in Germany on suspicion of murdering a 19-year-old woman in the city of Mannheim, according to authorities.

The arrest followed a request from the Mannheim Public Prosecutor’s Office, after the Mannheim District Court issued a warrant charging the teenager with murder.

A police report published on Thursday said the suspect had been in a relationship with the victim for more than a year. On Tuesday evening, the two met before later heading into Käfertaler Fores (photo above).

Investigators believe the attack took place shortly after midnight, around 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

“She was unaware of the attack and unable to defend herself. The 17-year-old is said to have taken advantage of this and killed the 19-year-old with his bare hands and, presumably, a branch,” the police report read.

Her body was discovered several hours later at around 8 a.m. on Wednesday morning by a passerby, who alerted police.

Authorities launched a large-scale investigation immediately after the discovery, forming a 60-member special commission to track down the suspect.

The teenager was provisionally arrested later the same evening in Mannheim. He was brought before an investigating judge at the Mannheim District Court on Thursday, where the arrest warrant for murder was formally issued.

The court ordered that he remain in custody pending further proceedings.

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UK: Civil servants celebrated Islamic revolution weeks after Iranian regime massacred 30,000 protesters

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office – Google Maps

Foreign Office staff attended a celebration at the Iranian embassy marking the 1979 Islamic revolution, despite the Tehran regime having killed thousands of its own citizens in the preceding weeks.

The event took place on February 12 at the embassy in London, where guests heard the Iranian ambassador praise his country’s achievements.

Campaign groups opposing the regime estimate that as many as 30,000 demonstrators lost their lives after taking to the streets to demand an end to nearly five decades of theocratic rule.

By the date of the embassy gathering, the Human Rights Activists News Agency, based in the United States, calculated that at least 7,000 people had already perished, among them 219 children.

Dame Priti Patel, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, branded the attendance “disgraceful,” arguing that officials had effectively paid tribute to the Islamic revolution while the Iranian government was slaughtering tens of thousands of its own people.

She told The Telegraph: “Iran is the world’s leading sponsor of international terrorism. It has plotted terror attacks and assassinations on our own soil.

And it has bathed the streets of cities across Iran in the blood of a generation of freedom fighters.”

The Conservative frontbencher accused Labour of mishandling foreign policy on Iran, drawing parallels with the government’s approach to China.

Dame Priti added: “Keir Starmer lacks the backbone to stand up for our country and our allies, and his weakness is an embarrassment to Britain.”

Video footage released by the embassy captured smartly attired guests standing in silence as Iran’s national anthem played.

A prominent banner was displayed, featuring images of Ali Khamenei, the former supreme leader subsequently killed in US-Israeli strikes, and his predecessor Ruhollah Khomeini.

Ambassador Seyed Ali Mousavi delivered an address lauding the regime whilst criticising Western sanctions as “unjust”.

He said: “For nearly half a century, Iran has faced relentless pressure; from the eight-year imposed war and severe sanctions to acts of sabotage and terrorism.

“Nevertheless, by relying on domestic capabilities, national cohesion and empowered human resources, it has achieved significant progress.”

Iranian state media celebrated the presence of Foreign Office personnel and unnamed parliamentary representatives at the gathering.

A Foreign Office spokesman defended the attendance as routine diplomatic practice, emphasising that maintaining relations with nations worldwide was central to the department’s role.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office told The Telegraph: “It is the job of the Foreign Office to maintain diplomatic relations with countries across the globe, and it is standard practice as part of that engagement for the UK to be represented at these kind of national day events.

“The event in question has been regularly attended by Foreign Office officials under successive governments since the Iranian embassy in London reopened in 2015.

“Diplomatic engagement of this kind is a normal part of how we protect our interests and people overseas, including those UK nationals who are currently being detained in Iran.”

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