The shocking death of Iran’s President could have frightening repercussions on the streets of Britain as the Foreign Office is accused of dozing off on the job.
Former Defense Secretary Sir Liam Fox has warned that Iranian “thuggery” will now unleash even greater fury against Western allies following the death of Ebrahim Raisi.
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The president and seven others died when a helicopter they were traveling in crashed in a mountainous area of Iran on Sunday.
Raisi – also known as the Butcher of Tehran for his role in the mass execution of political prisoners – has long been considered the natural successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s highest authority. Will.
Speaking to The Sun’s Never Mind The Ballots television program, former Conservative minister Sir Liam insisted it is “inexplicable” that Britain has not yet placed the notorious Revolutionary Guard on the proscribed terrorist list.
He then backed former defense chief Ben Wallace for criticizing Foreign Office mandarins after they drafted a message of condolence for the “evil” Raisi.
FCDO civil servants drafted a statement expressing condolences over the “tragedy” of the hardline Iranian president’s death – but ministers refused to use it.
Asked whether he agreed with Wallace’s assessment that “Foreign Office headquarters is where British interests go to die”, Sir Liam said: “I would be dishonest if I didn’t say I have some sympathy for what Ben Wallace wrote there.
“We must always put our national interests front and center.
“And I think that sometimes means challenging the orthodoxy that places like the Foreign Office represent.”
Sir Liam described Raisi as “one of the most evil figures in that region”.
As for Iran futureSir Liam painted a bleak picture, adding: “Iran is what I described as a bandit democracy, which is an oppressive state run by criminals, but it has a dangerous theocracy on top of it.
“And so, as they start to lose control, I think we’re going to see what we’ve seen in most dictatorial states, which is that they’re going to increase their levels of oppression until they can’t do it anymore.”
Issuing a dire warning to both Iran and Britain, Sir Liam said: “So in the short term I don’t think there will be a good outcome in terms of the people of Iran or their countries.” neighbors or even the countries it targets, including ourselves, when exporting terrorism.
Who was Ebrahim Raisi?
By Jessica Baker
IRAN’s hardline president, Ebrahim Raisi, has a bloody history filled with murder and helped oversee the mass executions of thousands of people.
The 63-year-old positioned himself as a potential successor to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – before he died suddenly in a helicopter crash on Sunday.
Known to some as The Butcher, Raisi won a landslide victory and was declared president of Iran in 2021.
The brute was reportedly a key member of the so-called “Death Commission,” which ordered the deaths of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 as Iran’s eight-year war with Iraq came to an end.
His alleged role was considered instrumental in gaining the support of powerful Iranian theocratic rulers.
The US sanctioned Raisi in 2019 for his “administrative oversight” of the executions of juvenile offenders and the torture and “amputations” inflicted on prisoners in Iran – as well as the 1988 mass executions.
Raisi later led the country in enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels, and was in power when Iran launched a massive drone and missile attack on Israel in April.
The president allegedly ordered the torture of pregnant women, had prisoners thrown off cliffs, had people flogged with electrical cables, and oversaw countless other brutal acts of violence.
Mass protests swept Iran in 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who had been detained for allegedly not wearing a hijab, or headscarf, as required by authorities.
Following the demonstrations, a months-long security crackdown resulted in the deaths of more than 500 people and the detention of more than 22,000.
In March, a United Nations investigative panel concluded that Iran was responsible for the physical violence that led to Amini’s death.
“But in the long term, I think you have to hope that sooner or later there will be reform and that the crazy mullahs will be replaced by something a little more rational.”
On calls to classify Tehran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation, Sir Liam said: “I find it inexplicable that we have not outlawed the Revolutionary Guard.
“They were involved in all this repression.”
He continued: “And while we’re at it, we might want to ask ourselves why Iranian Iran Air, responsible for flying Iranian drones to Russia, still operates out of Heathrow Airport and why Iranian banks still operate out of Heathrow City. . London?”
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
