"... Britain has a long and undistinguished history of intrigue in Iranian affairs, dating from the 19th century when British gunboats regularly shelled Persian ports to persuade the Shah to toe the line. More recently, in 1953, British intelligence masterminded the plot to overthrow Mohammed Mossadegh – arguably Iran’s last democratically elected prime minister – after he sought to nationalise the British-owned Anglo-Iranian oil company.
Given this history of skulduggery, it is hardly surprising that most Iranians believe Britain is involved in the carefully coordinated campaign of assassinations, bombings and acts of computer sabotage that are clearly designed to disrupt Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons. In the most recent incident, a mysterious explosion appears to have caused significant damage to the uranium enrichment complex at Isfahan, a vital feature of Iran’s nuclear programme.
If, as seems likely, this was the result of sabotage, then the finger of suspicion will inevitably point towards Israel’s Mossad intelligence service. As Mossad works closely with its British and American counterparts, the Iranians, not surprisingly, will conclude that British agents are also engaged in targeting its nuclear facilities.
Only last month, a senior Iranian military officer claimed the British Embassy was a centre of “conspiracy and espionage” that should be dealt with by the Iranian people. The likelihood that the embassy was about to be attacked by a hostile mob was so strong that the Foreign Office took the unusual step of releasing a statement calling on the Iranian authorities to ensure that it was adequately protected. The request fell on deaf ears...."
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