Funeral crowd ‘paid to mourn’
inspectors unfettered access to all nuclear facilities to ending foreign policy ambitions in Iraq, Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan and freeing all foreign hostages, including jailed British-iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-ratcliffe.
But Dr Hurst said: “If this fails and Iran does what it did under Bush and ramps up its nuclear programme, where do we go?
“Assuming allowing Iran to possess these weapons isn’t an option, it leaves military action – precisely the situation President Obama wanted to avoid – or possible regime change.
“Personally, I can only think of one case where sanctions succeeded in regime change, and that’s South Africa.”
IRANIAN dissidents claimed the regime paid mourners to go to the funeral of assassinated general Qassem Soleimani, as crowds intehran yesterday demanded supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei step down over the downing of Flight 752.
Dissident Reza Amiri, 32, said many mourners were government workers, others were told social security payments or jobs were at risk, and students were promised extra credit.
He said: “This is common practice.the regime offers SIM cards to people to celebrate the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, for instance.”
Mr Amiri who received a 20-year jail term for supporting opposition party People’s Mujahedin of Iran, but escaped to a safe country, said the MEK was behind yesterday’s protests, in which crowds chanted: “Death to liars!”
He said: “I became involved with them because, like so many of us in Iran, we are desperate for freedom; freedom from the regime’s brutality and freedom from its corruption.”within hours of his arrest, Mr Amiri was sent totehran’s Evin prison, where Briton Nazanin Zaghari-ractliffe is held.
He was held in solitary confinement for three months and tortured in an attempt to discover other figures in his network. He escaped after fellow activists arranged for him to have compassionate leave.
Onwednesday Prince Reza Pahlavi, the son of the deposed Shah of Iran, will deliver a speech urging Iranians to take part in a campaign of non-violent civil disobedience.
THE Arab world’s longestserving ruler, Oman’s Sultan Qaboos bin Said al-said, has died aged 79.
His cousin Haitham bin Tariq al-said has succeeded him in a smooth transition.
The news, however, marks the loss of one of the region’s most stable influences.
Al-said remained neutral in regional struggles and balanced ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran, as well as the United States.
He transformed Oman into a thriving hub for 4.3 million people, 43 per cent of whom are expats.
Al-said brokered the 2013 nuclear deal between President Obama and Iran.
In 2018 he invited Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to visit Oman.
The sultan’s successor has pledged to continue to help resolve disputes peacefully.
Last night the Queen paid tribute to al-said, saying his commitment to peace will be remembered.