The British press has a long history of making up stories about Iran
The UK appears to have developed a three-pronged strategy in relation to the fallout from the terrorist-style assassination of General Qassem Soleimani by the US government.
At an official level, the UK has endorsed the assassination, as foremost demonstrated by the statements of Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and foreign secretary, Dominic Raab.
At a more practical level, the UK is maneuvering to support the US in any potential military action against Iran. The Sun newspaper ran a well-sourced article yesterday claiming that a nuclear-powered British submarine is in “striking position” of Iran.
The third prong of the strategy consists of propaganda and the planting of fake stories in the press. The best example is the following headline in today’s The Times newspaper: “We will kill UK troops, warns Iran”.
The Times relies on a single alleged source for the article, namely an unnamed commander in Iran’s Quds force. This is almost impossible to believe as neither the Quds force, nor any other part of the Iranian military, are allowed to give unauthorised interviews or information to foreign media.
Indeed, the story has been strenuously denied, notably by the Iranian ambassador to the UK, Hamid Baeidinejad.
As the Ambassador and high representative of my country in the UK, I strongly condemn the vicious lie and provocative news by #Times today. I will ask the concerned UK authorities to take swift action to stop such malicious false propaganda in this very sensitive time.
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On closer inspection, this three-pronged UK strategy is better thought-out than it would initially appear, especially as the second and third components are mutually complementary.
The UK media make up lies about Iran’s purported intention to target UK troops, whereas in actual fact it is the UK military which is taking important steps to support its US ally in any potential military operation against Iran.