Tony Blair ‘exaggerated Iran’s Al Qaeda link’
TONY Blair “very much exaggerated” Iran’s role in supporting Al Qaeda insurgents in their attacks on British and US forces in Iraq, a former ambassador to Tehran said yesterday.
Sir Richard Dalton also said the UK and US misread the intentions of the Iranian regime.
They believed it would be hostile to their mission in Iraq when in fact Tehran wanted them to install a stable government in Baghdad.
Giving evidence to the Iraq Inquiry Sir Richard – Britain’s ambassador to Iran from 2003 to 2006 – said Mr Blair made “a series of very bad decisions” about the legality of 2003 invasion.
And he condemned US president George Bush’s 2002 characterisation of Iran as part of an “axis of evil”. This was a “monstrous error”, he told the Inquiry.
As international pressure continues to ratchet up over Tehran’s alleged efforts to acquire nuclear weapons, Sir Richard warned that military action against Iran would be illegal.
When Mr Blair gave evidence to the Iraq Inquiry in January he still stressed the role of Iran in destabilising Iraq.