Iran uses Harry's admission about killing 25 Taliban fighters as justification for executing British dual citizen
17 January 2023, 12:32
Harry's admission that he killed 25 Taliban members has been used by Iran to justify the regime's execution of a British-Iranian national.
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Alireza Akbari was killed after the regime - which has been trying to contain large protests against the theocratic government - accused him of spying for the UK.
The killing drew widespread condemnation but Iran's foreign ministry hit back, using Harry's revelation that he killed more than two dozen fighters in Afghanistan to try and justify the death.
"The British regime, whose royal family member, sees the killing of 25 innocent people as removal of chess pieces and has no regrets over the issue, and those who turn a blind eye to this war crime, are in no position to preach others on human rights," the ministry said on Twitter.
Whether Taliban members can be considered "innocent" would be disputed, but Harry's revealing of his kill count was condemned by veterans and raised questions about whether he would be even more of a target for terrorists.
"So my number is 25. It’s not a number that fills me with satisfaction, but nor does it embarrass me," he wrote in Spare.
"I made it my purpose, from day one, to never go to bed with any doubt whether I had done the right thing… whether I had shot at Taliban and only Taliban, without civilians in the vicinity.
"I wanted to return to Great Britain with all my limbs, but more than that I wanted to get home with my conscience intact."
The Taliban has already used it in their propaganda.
Anas Haqqani, who is part of the Taliban's leadership, said: "Mr Harry! The ones you killed were not chess pieces, they were humans; they had families who were waiting for their return.
"Among the killers of Afghans, not many have your decency to reveal their conscience and confess to their war crimes."
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Harry compared them to chess pieces being taken off the board as he said he did not feel good or bad about ending their lives.
Mr Akbari, a former deputy defence minister for Iran, was lured back to the country by security forces there after previously travelling to the UK and becoming a naturalised citizen.
The 61-year-old denied being a spy for Britain as he was arrested in 2019.
Rishi Sunak called the killing a "callous and cowardly act".
