Iranian People Are 'Happy' About US Strikes On Nuclear Facilities, Former UK Security Minister Claims

Tom Tugendhat on BBC One's Sunday With Laura KuenssbergThe general public in Iran will be “happy” about the US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, according to a former security minister. Donald Trump unexpectedly launched attacks on Iran overnight and “obliterated” the three sites where the regime was enriching uranium.It comes less than two weeks after Israel initiated the current conflict with Iran over fears it was developing nuclear warheads, an allegation Tehran has repeatedly denied.Trump has warned Iran that it must negotiate over the future of its nuclear capabilities or face further attacks.Tom Tugendhat, a Tory MP who served in the last Conservative government, told the BBC this morning that it was “striking” none of Iran’s neighbouring nations in the Middle East have spoken up in its defence.Speaking on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, he said: “You know what’s really striking? Listen to the silence in the Middle East. Total silence.“No protest at all from the Syrian government, from the Lebanon government, from the Iraqi government, from the Saudi government and from many, many other governments.”Presenter Kuenssberg said: “So you’re suggesting other countries in the region are happy to see this happen?”“Not only in the region,” the MP for Tonbridge replied. “Iranians in Iran have been speaking privately to me and to others about how they’re supportive of the attacks on the IRGC [Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps] and on the nuclear facilities.”He also claimed Sunni Muslim states have been “extremely restrained” in their criticisms towards Tehran, a Shia Muslim state, over the years.“This regime has murdered more Sunni Muslims than any other organisations in the last 30 years,” he said. “It has murdered women and children all over the region.He continued: “The greatest danger right now is for the Iranian people.”He said the members of the general public in Iran have been tortured and killed for issues such as not wearing headscarves.Tugendhat also rejected the “staggering” claims from the Iranian ambassador to the UK that it was negotiating with the US at the time of Israel’s strikes.The MP said: “The idea that these negotiations were ongoing and that somehow others have violated it is a complete lie.”Related...'Nobody's Perfect': Iranian Ambassador Clashes With Laura Kuenssberg Over Tehran's Threat To UKDonald Trump Confirms US Launched Strikes Against Iran In Major Escalation Of Middle Eastern WarJonathan Reynolds Confirms UK Was Not Involved In Trump's Strikes On Iran

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