Butcher of Tehran’s shock death has chilling repercussions – Iran is more determined than ever, ex-defence boss says
THE shock death of Iran’s President could have chilling repercussions on Britain’s streets as the Foreign Office stands accused of napping on the job.
Ex-Defence Secretary Sir Liam Fox warned the Iranian “thugocracy” will now unleash even greater fury against Western allies after Ebrahim Raisi’s death.
The president and seven others were killed when a helicopter they were travelling 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 – had long been regarded as the natural successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the highest authority in Iran.
Speaking to The Sun’s telly show Never Mind The Ballots, former Tory Cabinet Minister Sir Liam insisted it is “inexplicable” Britain has not yet placed the notorious Revolutionary Guard on the proscribed terror list.
He then backed ex-defence boss Ben Wallace for criticising Foreign Office mandarins after they drew up a condolences message for “evil” Raisi.
Civil servants in the FCDO drew up a statement expressing condolences over the “tragedy” of the death of the hard-line Iranian president – but ministers refused to use it.
Asked if he agreed with Mr Wallace’s assessment that “Foreign Office HQ is where British interests go to die”, Sir Liam said: “I would be dishonest if I didn’t say I had some sympathy with what Ben Wallace has written there.
“We need always be placing our national interests front and centre.
“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’s future, Sir Liam painted a grim picture, adding: “Iran is what I described as a thugocracy, which is an oppressive state run by criminals, but it’s got a dangerous theocracy on top of it.
“And so as they begin to lose their grip, I think we will see what we’ve seen in most dictatorial states, which is that they will increase their levels of oppression until they can do it no longer.”
Issuing a dire warning for both Iran and Britain, Sir Liam said: “So in the short term, I don’t think there is a good outcome in terms of the people of Iran or its neighbours or even the countries that it takes aim at, including ourselves, in exporting terrorism.
Who was Ebrahim Raisi?
By Jessica Baker
IRAN’S hardline president Ebrahim Raisi has a bloody history steeped in murder and helped oversee the mass executions of thousands.
The 63-year-old had positioned himself as a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – before he died suddenly in a helicopter crash on Sunday.
Known by some as The Butcher, Raisi won a landslide victory and was declared Iran’s president in 2021.
The brute is alleged to have been a key member of the so-called “Death Commission” which ordered thousands of political prisoners to be killed in 1988, as Iran‘s eight-year war with Iraq came to an end.
His alleged role was said to be pivotal in winning him the support of powerful Iranian theocratic rulers.
The US sanctioned Raisi in 2019 for his “administrative oversight” of the executions of juvenile offenders, and for the torture and “amputations” inflicted on prisoners in Iran – as well as for the 1988 mass executions.
Raisi later led the country as it enriched uranium 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 electric cords, and oversaw countless other brutal acts of violence.
Mass protests swept Iran in 2022 after the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who had been detained over allegedly not wearing a hijab, or headscarf, as was required by authorities.
Following the demonstrations, a monthslong security crackdown saw more than 500 people killed and more than 22,000 others detained.
In March, a United Nations investigative panel found that Iran was responsible for the physical violence that led to Amini’s death.
“But in the longer term, I think you have to expect that sooner or later you will get reformed and you’ll get the Mad mullahs replaced by something a bit more rational.”
On calls to class Tehran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation, Sir Liam said: “I find it inexplicable that we haven’t proscribed the Revolutionary Guard.
“They have been involved in all this repression.”
He went on: “And while we’re at it, we might want to ask ourselves, why Iranian Iran Air which was responsible for taking Iranian drones to Russia is still operating from Heathrow Airport and why Iranian banks are still operating in the City of London?”