Former president Barack Obama granted amnesty to Iranian general Qassem Suleimani as part of the “historic” Iran deal back in 2015.
According to a 2015 article published by The Telegraph, Suleimani was taken off the list of proscribed Iranians alongside a number of senior members of the Revolutionary Guards.
Telegraph.co.uk reports: Qassem Suleimani, the head of the elite Quds Force in Iranâs Revolutionary Guards, fully deserves his reputation as one of the worldâs leading terrorist masterminds.
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For a decade a more he has been the driving force behind an array of Iranian-sponsored terrorist groups, from Hizbollah to Hamas, which have orchestrated a reign of terror throughout the Middle East.
From a purely British perspective, he was responsible for training and equipping the Shia militias in southern Iraq who killed scores of British troops during the dark days of Iraqâs sectarian conflict following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, and was reported to have trained the Taliban in the art of making deadly roadside bombs that killed and mutilated our Service personnel serving in southern Afghanistan.
So you can imagine my amazement when, leafing through the more obscure annexes of President Barack Obamaâs âhistoricâ deal with Iran (page 86 of the annex, to be precise), I found that Mr Suliemani â as the White House no doubt now refers to him â has been granted an amnesty and taken off the list of proscribed Iranians â together with a number of senior members of the Revolutionary Guards.
Thanks to Mr Obamaâs scandalous capitulation to Tehran, Mr Suleimani has overnight gone from being one of the worldâs most wanted terrorists to the White Houseâs newest best friend.
This is just one of the many troubling indications contained in the detail of the accord struck in Vienna between the P5 +1 and Tehran â thatâs the official line, of course. The reality is this shoddy deal was worked out between the ayatollahs and the White House, with countries like Britain â which used to take a robust view of Iranâs endless procrastinations on its nuclear activities â left impotent on the sidelines.
Another example of the craven concessions the White House had made to Tehran is the way future inspections will handled. Iranâs disinclination to make full and transparent disclosures on its nuclear programme is well-documented. Given the opportunity to cheat, they will do so. Which is why inspections by qualified teams of nuclear inspectors is so important.
Only from now on the onus will be on the West to make the case that Iran is not playing by the rules by handing over its intelligence to prove so. For under the terms of the accord, we must âjustifyâ the need for inspections, which in effect means handing over all the intelligence we have on Iranâs illicit activities. Of course Iran has been desperate to find out how Western intelligence learned about the existence of nuclear enrichment sites like Natanz and Fordow and, if we comply with the requirements set out in the accord to the letter, this is what will happen, with all the implications that will have for all our sources who risk their lives to tell us the truth about what the regime is up to.
If I were Suleimani, Iâd be organising an enormous party right now to celebrate a deal that is truly a âhistoric victoryâ for Tehran.