Prince Harry has been called a “stupid boy” and urged to “take responsibility” after his admission of killing 25 Taliban was used by Iran to defend the hanging of a British-Iranian citizen.
Current and former British military commanders have accused the Duke of Sussex of “giving ammunition” to the Iranian propaganda machine and exploiting his military career for financial gain.
Responding to British criticism of the execution of Alireza Akbari, 61, over the weekend, Tehran said Britain was “unfit to preach about human rights” after the prince recently admitted to killing Taliban in his memoir Spare .
A commander said Harry “made himself a tool of the Tehran regime,” while a colonel serving in Afghanistan said Harry should take responsibility for allowing Iran to combine its murder of a political opponent with the rightful death in one Compare armed conflict.
Prince Harry has been heavily criticized for confessing to killing 25 Taliban members after Iran used him to defend the hanging of a British-Iranian national
Former First Sea Lord Admiral Lord West condemned Iran’s actions that executed Alireza Akbari but criticized Prince Harry, calling him a “stupid boy”.
Colonel Richard Kemp (pictured), a former British military commander in Afghanistan, said Harry played into the hands of Tehran
The Iranian regime has used Prince Harry’s admission that he killed 25 Taliban in Afghanistan to target Britain amid the escalating row over the execution of Alireza Akbari (above).
To the disappointment of many former colleagues and military commanders, the prince chose to disclose his personal list of responsible enemies.
He also described the dehumanization of his opponents on the battlefield, viewing them as “chess pieces” to be removed “off the board” rather than human beings.
Iran took advantage of Harry’s comments after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the hanging of Mr Akbari after he was accused of being an MI6 spy a “callous and cowardly act carried out by a barbaric regime”.
Yesterday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry fired back, tweeting: “The British regime, whose royal family member sees the killing of 25 innocent people as the removal of pawns and has no regrets about the matter, and those who turn a blind eye to war and crime are not in.” able to preach to others about human rights.’
Just days before his death, Mr Akbari was reportedly severely beaten in prison before making what appeared to be coerced confessions.
In an audio message broadcast on the BBC’s Persian service, he said he had been tortured to get him to admit to crimes he did not commit.
His Iranian captors described him as “one of the most important agents of British intelligence in Iran”.
Former Royal Navy commander Rear Admiral Chris Parry agreed, suggesting the prince had effectively made himself a tool for the Tehran regime
Iran’s foreign ministry said Britain has no right to criticize the country, which is led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (above), given Harry’s revelation in his book that he killed 25 Taliban militants
Former First Sea Lord Admiral Lord West told The Sun: “Harry was a stupid boy who said what he said but there is no equivalency with what Iran is doing.”
Colonel Richard Kemp, a former British military commander in Afghanistan, said Harry played into Tehran’s hands.
He said: “Harry should take full responsibility for supplying ammunition to the propaganda machine of the murderous Iranian regime.
“While all decent people will reject Iran’s lies, many of their supporters will be empowered by the ayatollahs’ exploitation of the Duke’s ill-considered comments.”
Former Royal Navy commander Rear Admiral Chris Parry agreed, suggesting the prince had effectively made himself a tool for the Tehran regime.
He said: “The Iranians are using it for propaganda purposes. Despite Prince Harry’s awkward words, it is highly double-dealing to assert the equivalence between the lawful killing of combatants in warfare and a show trial and political assassination by a dictatorial regime.
Prince Harry fought the Taliban in Afghanistan for five months from 2012 to 2013 as a gunner aboard an Apache attack helicopter.
The Army Air Corps AH-64 was armed with Hellfire missiles and a 30mm cannon capable of eviscerating anyone in its path.
Harry’s killings were recorded by a camera attached to the helicopter’s landing gear. He also described how he viewed the footage to add up how many Taliban deaths he was responsible for.
In the summer of 2021, the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in a lightning offensive that swept across the country in a matter of weeks
The admission drew widespread condemnation from the military and fears of retaliation from militant supporters.
Downing Street insisted that Mr Akbari’s execution and the prince’s comments about his experience in Afghanistan were separate issues.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “No one should have any doubt that the execution of Alizera Akbari was a barbaric and politically motivated act devoid of legitimacy.
“Any comparison between that and servicewomen and men carrying out legitimate actions would be completely wrong.”
After Iran’s exploitation of the prince’s remarks, former Conservative leader Iain Duncan-Smith said he hoped Harry would “think about it and not do something like this again”.
He added: “Iran criticizing us on human rights grounds would be a joke if it weren’t insane, brutal, violent and dangerous.”
Former Secretary of Defense Alex Shelbrooke said: “I think Harry’s words were unwise. Everyone is aware of the work of military personnel. Then they don’t try to exploit it for their financial gain.”
Tory MP Alicia Kearns, chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, added: “We will not lecture on a terrorist state that is arming lives and industrializing hostage-taking.
“The rape and murder of innocent women who demand an end to their subjugation is abhorrent.”
And former Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind said the comparison was “absurd”.
“It shows that Iranians realize how badly they have behaved. Attempting to compare them, at the request of the Afghan government, to British troops fighting to protect Afghan democracy is an absurd comparison by any measure,” he told the Mail.
“It’s an attempt at cheap propaganda that won’t even convince Iranians, let alone the people of this country.”