Harry accused of ‘playing into Iranian regime’ after Taliban body count confession
Prince Harry has been criticised for ‘giving ammunition’ to Iran’s propaganda machine with his confession of killing 25 Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.
Amid the many salacious revelations in the Duke of Sussex’s biography, Spare, his confessions about his military kills have received the most criticism.
Describing the people he took down as ‘chess pieces’, he has been dragged into a row about the execution of a British-Iranian dual national accused of spying by Tehran.
In a series of posts on Twitter, Iran’s foreign ministry criticised Britain’s anger over the hanging of Alireza Akbari.
The 61-year-old was convicted of ‘corruption on earth and harming the country’s internal and external security by passing on intelligence’.
‘The British regime, whose Royal Family member, sees the killing of 25 innocent people as removal of chess pieces and has no regrets over the issue, and those who turn a blind eye to this war crime, are in no position to preach others on human rights,’ the tweet read.
Tory MP Tobias Ellwood suggested last week that Harry’s admission could create security risks.
Colonel Richard Kemp, a former UK military commander in Afghanistan said the duke should take ‘full responsibility for giving ammunition’ to the Iranian regime, the Daily Mail reported.
He added: ‘While all decent people will reject Iran’s lies, many of their supporters will be strengthened by the ayatollahs’ exploitation of his ill-judged comments.’
British officials stressed the charges against Mr Akbari were politically motivated, and repeatedly called for his release.
Rishi Sunak said he was ‘appalled’ by the execution, adding his thoughts were with ‘Alireza’s friends and family’.
‘This was a callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime with no respect for the human rights of their own people,’ the prime minister tweeted.
Foreign secretary James Cleverly warned on Twitter that the execution would not go unchallenged, before announcing sanctions on Iran’s prosecutor general to underline Britain’s ‘disgust’.
His execution drew widespread condemnation and looks set to further worsen Iran’s long-strained relations with the West.
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