Raab indicates FCO support for General Soleimani assassination
The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, has come out in strong support of the US decision to assassinate Iranian Quds Force commander, General Qassem Soleimani, in a terrorist-style operation on the outskirts of Baghdad.
Speaking to both the BBC and Sky News today, Raab’s main talking point was that the US has “a right to exercise self-defence”.
It is not clear what Raab means by “self-defence” as General Soleimani was on official business in Iraq – having been invited there by the Iraqi authorities – before he was assassinated by an American MQ-9 Reaper drone which was reportedly launched from the Al-Udeid air base in Qatar.
Speaking to the BBC’s Andrew Marr show, Raab dismissed the idea that the assassination of General Soleimani constitutes an act of war, before deflecting the blame onto Iran.
“Iran has for a long period been engaged in menacing, destabilising activities”, Raab said, without furnishing evidence for his sweeping claims.
In terms of the “legality” of the US strike, Raab once again engaged in obfuscation and deflection by saying: “My view is - and the operational assessment has been done by the Americans - that there is a right of self-defence”.
In his interview with Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme, Raab leapt to the defence of Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, who has been accused of neglecting the crisis by not cutting short his holiday in the Caribbean.
Raab claimed he has been in “constant contact” with the PM, before adding: “The Prime Minister is in charge”.
Raab’s interviews have been widely interpreted as indicating strong UK support for the US’s increasingly belligerent posture on Iran.
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