Iran and Operations Abroad

 

Back in the previous century, when I was at the University of Salford, among my fellow-students were a number of Iranians. Some were known to be supporters of the then regime, headed by Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, aka the last Shah of Iran. Others, opponents of the Shah, some of whom were friends and comrades of mine, formed an Alternative Iranian Society (AIS). The official society was said to be run by SAVAK, the Shah's secret service. Out of solidarity, I joined AIS, but never went to any meetings because they were conducted in Farsi. Still, I was happy to be an alternative Iranian. This was in the late 70s and, as we know, the Shah was overthrown in 1979. All my Iranian friends returned home and those of us who knew him only heard from one - Mohammed - who said that the Left was under pressure from the Islamists who supported the Ayatollah Khomeni.  Indeed they were, as were all non-fundamentalists in Iran (they still are). I have often wondered over the years what happened to those young Iranians that I knew. I can only hope that they survived.

All this happened a long time ago, but, as we know, Iran is in the news for its massive missile attack against Israel. The topic for discussion, understandably, is the possibility of a retaliatory strike by the Israelis. It has been pointed out by some that Israel has launched targeted attacks against Iran for years, and the missile onslaught was retaliation for the killing of seven Revolutionary Guard officers in a clinical airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus. Without becoming embroiled in a discussion about retaliation, which is a frequent occurrence in the Middle East, I think it of interest to look more closely at the organisation to which those officers belonged - the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Of particular interest to us here in the UK, and surely to all countries concerned, is the IRGC section known as Quds Force. They should concern us, as they are responsible for all operations abroad carried out in the name of the Iranian government. As such, they have been involved in all Middle East conflicts since the 80s. At the present time, they are supporting Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. They are active in Syria and, closer to home, they are thought to be involved in assassination plots in Europe. In 2022, as Iran International said,: 

"An operative of Iran's IRGC Qods Force held in a European country has admitted to plotting assassinations in Turkey, Germany and France, diplomatic sources say. The sources who spoke to Iran International on condition of anonymity said the accused who is currently in detention in a European country has admitted to receiving $150,000 for organizing the assassinations with one million promised to be paid to him after the completion of the operations". 

And the Iranian state has not been idle when it comes to worldwide assassination, mostly, if not always, organised by Quds Force. The Iran Primer lists a number of murders and plots for murder around the world against Iranian dissidents and those whom the Iranian state would like to liquidate. As of 2023, the Islamic Republic  was behind the murder of at least 20 opponents abroad and had killed scores of people in bombings of foreign military, diplomatic and cultural facilities. It targeted Americans, Europeans, Latin Americans, Israelis and Arabs as well as Iranian opposition members living abroad, according to U.S., U.N., Israeli and other government reports. The Iran Primer lists at least 88 attacks or plots:

• 21 targeted Iranian dissidents
• 35 targeted Israelis or Jews
• 25 plots were against Western targets
• 8 plots were against Arab or other regional target

These killings, and plots to kill, include:

"July 18, 1994: Ninety-five were killed and 200 wounded in an explosion outside the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack, but Argentine intelligence allegedly concluded in 2004 that a 21-year Hezbollah operative carried out the attack with Iranian logistical support".

"April 2021: Swedish authorities arrested an Iranian couple in the Stockholm area that were allegedly planning to murder Aron Verständig, the then-head of the Official Council of Swedish Jewish Communities, and Saskia Pantell, who was serving as the interim head of the Zionist Federation in Sweden. A third target, also Jewish, was not publicized. The couple, Mahdi Ramezani and Fereshteh Sanaeifarid, had pretended to be Afghan refugees".

"Aug. 10, 2022: The U.S. Justice Department announced charges against an IRGC member for plotting to murder John Bolton, who served as national security advisor to President Donald Trump from 2018 to 2019. Shahram Poursafi, 45, planned the operation, “likely in retaliation” for the U.S. assassination of General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s elite Qods Force. Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad in early 2020".

It's quite disturbing to learn that Iranian agents are at work here in the UK as well.  In 2022, Reuters reported:

"LONDON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Iran's intelligence services have made at least 10 attempts to kidnap or even kill British nationals or individuals based in the United Kingdom regarded by Tehran as a threat, the head of Britain's domestic spy agency said on Wednesday".

The MI5 chief, Ken McCallum, said that Iranian agents were targeting UK citizens and UK-based dissidents. At the time, the then British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said that he had summoned Iran's  most senior diplomat over threats by Iranian security forces to journalists in Britain. (Surprisingly, the IRGC is not a banned organisation in Britain).  Radio Free Europe (RFE) reported that Iran's Quds Force planned to kill two U.K.-based Iranian journalists using a people smuggler to organize and carry out the killings in exchange for $200,000, according to British television channel ITV News. In more detail, RFE says: 

"The plot, dubbed by its organizers The Wedding, was to target Fardad Farahzad, a current presenter at Persian-language news channel Iran International, and former presenter Sima Sabet, codenamed the bride and the groom, according to the ITV News' investigation, which was broadcast on December 20"

An example of just such an attack was the stabbing of Pouria Zeraati, a dissident Iranian journalist, stabbed outside his London home on March 29th.  The three men who assaulted him escaped to a country not named by the police. Everything points to these three men being an IRGC hit squad.

And, of course, the Iranian regime is not slow at liquidating opponents in Iran itself...

As Amnesty International reports: 

"The number of executions in 2023 is the highest recorded since 2015 and marks a 48% increase from 2022 and a 172% increase from 2021. Iran’s killing spree is continuing into 2024, with at least 95 recorded executions by 20 March. Execution numbers recorded by Amnesty International are minimum figures and the organization believes the real number is higher".

In "fairness" to the Iranian regime, not all the people executed were political dissidents, but many were. And of course, women who do not wear the veil can find death dealt out to them on the street, as we saw with  Mahsa Amani. Then there are the people who disappear. Amnesty International tells of:

" Iranian Kurdish dissidents Pejman Fatehi, Vafa Azarbar, Mohammad (Hazhir) Faramarzi and Mohsen Mazloum, are at grave risk of execution in secret, without prior notice to their families and lawyers, as the authorities have been subjecting them to enforced disappearance, a crime under international law, since July 2022. Amid a horrific spike in executions across Iran, the men’s death sentences, imposed after a grossly unfair secret trial, were upheld by the Supreme Court on 2 January 2024 and sent for implementation".

In conclusion, I would like to say that while Israel deserves the criticism it receives for its conduct of the war in Gaza, we should remember that the organisations and states it confronts are not exactly angelic. I have had Israel described to me as "the gangster state". If so, how should we describe Iran?

Pouria Zeraati, when in hospital. He is now out of hospital and feeling much better. The regime in Iran denies having anything to do with his stabbing. As I look out of my window now, I think I see pigs flying in formation over Hounslow.

Five More Victims of OFSTED

 Five days ago, I included in my swipe at Gillian Keegan, our esteemed Education Secretary and at OFSTED, a list of five names. They were, and are, five important names - names of teachers who took their own lives because of stress brought on by OFSTED inspections. It took me a long time to compile that list, and I was sure that there were more such unfortunates, whose names were to be added. I decided that it might be a good idea to pass on what I knew to Professor Julia Waters, sister of the late Ruth Perry. As is known, Ruth Perry was the Head of Caversham Primary School, in Reading, who committed suicide in January last year, ahead of the publication of an adverse OFSTED report. As Professor Waters, seen above addressing the National Education Union (NEU) conference, is campaigning for OFSTED to become more human in its treatment of schools, I thought my information might be of value.

I emailed details of the five names to Professor Waters and, to my surprise and immense gratitude, she replied. After thanking me for my condolences, she said that she was already aware of all the names on my list and that she knew of five more names besides that five I already knew. After my initial shock, I began looking at these five new cases, and I give some details here.

The first case, and the second on the overall list, is the tragic case of Pamela Relf, who committed suicide by drowning in 2000. 57-years of age, she had taught for 36 years and was  the longest-serving teacher at Middlefield Primary School, in Eynesbury, St Neot’s, Cambridgeshire. The OFSTED team who inspected her school said that her lessons "lacked pace", and she was deeply distressed by this. The TES reported:

"Headteacher Brian Rayner said: “I have never before seen Pamela in such a state. It concerned me that the school’s most senior teacher had been reduced to such a state.”

Miss Relf’s body was found in a river at a nature reserve near her home. She had disappeared on her way to work on January 4, the day the new term began. Dr Colin Latimore, the coroner, recorded a verdict of suicide while suffering from depression. Still, the then Chief Inspector, Chris Woodhead, uttered these beautiful words by way of an elegy:

 “Miss Relf’s death is obviously very sad and everybody at OFSTED is deeply upset that she was unable to accept what the inspectors said to her. We will continue to do all we can to ensure that inspection is rigorous, that it tells the truth about a teacher, but at the same time that we reduce the pressure that’s inevitable in any inspection to a minimum.”

It will be noted that these sentiments, uttered 23 years before the passing of Ruth Perry, are very similar, if not identical, to what Amanda Spielman said about Ruth. This surely makes a mockery of OFSTED's supposed reduction of pressure "to a minimum", following the death of Pamela Relf - if it happened at all.

It certainly did not happen for James Patton, a 29-year old primary school teacher who also took his life in 2000. As the Free Library says: 

"Mr James Patton, aged 29, who worked up to 60 hours a week, felt that he was failing the class of 10-year-olds he taught at Corpus Christi Roman Catholic primary school in Stechford, an inquest heard yesterday. After having time off work and being treated for anxiety and depression by his GP, he wrote a goodbye letter to his wife, Melanie, which said: 'My best was not good enough.' Then he hanged himself from a tree on a public right of way close to their home in Green Acres Road, Kings Norton."

Mr Patton's wife, Melanie, said that her husband was "extremely anxious" about a pending OFSTED inspection. His Headteacher paid tribute to Mr Patton's work, saying:  'James was very dedicated and very hard-working. He was adored not only by the pupils but respected by the staff". 

In 2008, a Scottish Headteacher, Irene Hogg, took her own life following an adverse OFSTED inspection. As The Scotsman says: 

"The head teacher at Glendinning Primary School in Galashiels for 18 years was said to have been "disappointed and visibly distressed after receiving critical feedback from the visit".

Following this feedback, Ms Hogg drove to a remote spot, took an overdose of paracetamol and suffered a fatal heart attack after falling into a stream. Sherriff James Farrell, at the Fatal Accident Inquiry into Ms Hogg's death, said: "There can be no doubt that Irene Hogg's death is inextricably linked to the outcome of the Glendinning School inspection on March 2008."

OFSTED clearly had not learned much about reducing pressure since the previous suicides.  The human story behind this death and the others is deeply distressing and affecting. As Sherriff Farrell went on to say: "The headteacher, Irene Hogg, was respected and held in high esteem by her staff and by parents, and loved by the many children who over the years were fortunate to have been in her care."

In 2010, Sarah Giddy, a 44-year old teacher at St Helen's Primary School in Abbotsham, North Devon, hanged herself at home, three months before she was due to be married. As the Daily Mail says: 

"The teacher was worried about an inspection by local education authority officials planned for the following week when she killed herself on a Saturday morning." An unnamed friend said: "She was a lovely woman who had everything to live for. She was very healthy and fit and loved horses. She had been a teacher for five years after previously working as a nursery nurse.'

Last in this melancholy list is Headteacher Helen Mann, 43, who was found hanged at Sytchampton Endowed First School, near Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire, in November 2012. Mrs Mann had been in her post less than six months at the time of her death. Having started the job with great enthusiasm, it seems that Mrs Mann was concerned that the school would not retain its previous "Outstanding" OFSTED grade. At the inquest for Mrs Mann, the school's chair of governors, Dr Stephanie Galt, said: 

"The school had been classified as 'outstanding' in its previous inspection and she was concerned that it wouldn't be classified as 'outstanding' if they were to come in soon. That had been mentioned in at least one governors' meeting and we all said that we understood this would be the case but not through any fault of her."

In conclusion, we now have a full list of teachers who have taken their own lives through OFSTED pressure: Janet Watson (1999), Pamela Relf (2000), James Patton (2000), Keith Waller (2007), Jed Holmes (2007), Irene Hogg (2008), Sarah Giddy (2010), Helen Mann (2012), Carol Woodward (2015) and Ruth Perry (2023). So much for Chris Woodhead's words of 2000! I have to thank Professor Julia Waters for providing me with a full list of these deaths, even though it is probably (and sadly) incomplete. We can only send condolences to the families of all these teachers and, as Professor Waters said in her email to me:

 "It’s a terrible tragedy that the suffering of all these individuals, their families, schools and communities has gone largely unheard and unheeded."

Gillian Keegan and OFSTED Abolition

 She's at it again. Last September, I was commenting about the fact that the current Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan had used a four-letter word during a TV interview. Understandably, there was widespread criticism of Mrs Keegan, and she was forced to apologise. In my post, I raised the glaringly obvious point that had a teacher or teaching assistant sworn in front of children or staff, they would have faced severe disciplinary measures, possibly even dismissal. Neville Grundy confirmed that any civil servant swearing in front of the public or colleagues would face comparable measures. An anonymous Tube driver here in London was disciplined for shouting a pro-Palestinian slogan over the train intercom. Since last September - and I am forced to be discreet - I have learned of a teaching assistant here in West London who was dismissed for, among other things, using a swear word in front of children. Mrs Keegan, as we know, was not dismissed, and remains in her post.

Again, as we know, Mrs Keegan has been speaking out of turn - this time about an OFSTED inspection. As Schools Week reports: 

"Gillian Keegan said she would have “probably punched” disrespectful Ofsted inspectors, during a question-and-answer session at the ASCL school leaders’ union conference in Liverpool last month."

I found myself gloating vindictively to learn that Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union, which represents inspectors, wrote to Mrs Keegan on March 11, demanding that she retract the “inflammatory language”, which he called “unacceptable in any context, let alone coming from the secretary of state”. Like any serving or retired teacher, I was hugely amused that OFSTED inspectors had found themselves on the receiving end of an unfair verdict. As a veteran of both OFSTED and HMI inspections, gained from years of being in a school placed in Special Measures, I found it amusing that they felt aggrieved at Mrs Keegan's remarks - I know so many in my old profession, including me, who feel an abiding sense of grievance at comments passed upon them and their schools by OFSTED inspectors. Mr Penman and his members deserve a taste of their own medicine.

Mrs Keegan has not apologised for her remark. Instead, as Schools Week puts it: 

" Keegan said: “As I think you know, the comments you refer to were off-the-cuff remarks, made in a light-hearted manner in a very particular context, and in the spirit of expressing support for headteachers and teachers in the audience. Clearly, I would not be punching anyone, or advocating anyone else do so, and to imply otherwise would be completely wrong.”

What was not said by anyone was the fact that, had any headteacher or teacher publicly made this statement, Mrs Keegan, her department and the right-wing press would have been incandescent with (self) righteous anger. The hypothetical culprit would be named and shamed publicly on social media, and Mrs Keegan would undoubtedly be joining in the clamour for him or her to be disciplined (the Daily Mail would probably call for dismissal). In contrast, Mrs Keegan remains serenely in place. To quote Nev Grundy's comments from my September post:

"Yet another incident to add to the huge catalogue of examples of one rule for us and none for them".

While on the subject of OFSTED, and since Mrs Keegan - at least temporarily and light-heartedly - identified with the feelings of school staff about OFSTED inspections, we should note that the National Education Union (NEU) are calling for the abolition of OFSTED. The NEU survey of members found, according to Teeside Live:  

"Just 3% of teachers believe Ofsted is trusted to uphold standards in schools and only 4% think it acts independently of Government. The poll of more than 4,500 NEU teacher members in state schools in England, found 62% said inspections impacted their mental health and 59% said it affected their home life".

And, as we know, OFSTED stress led to the suicide of Ruth Perry, pictured above. Interestingly, the last Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman, has hinted that she does not think that the OFSTED team who inspected Ruth Perry's school - Caversham School, in Reading - did anything untoward. In a separate Schools Week article, Ms Spielman is quoted as saying:

 “It’s like a doctor, sometimes the doctor has to give you a difficult diagnosis. And you cannot not be upset by it, however kindly and sympathetically they give it to you. It’s the same for Ofsted inspectors. There are times when they have to give people really tough messages.”

Spielman does not mention that OFSTED's "tough messages" have cost at least four other lives besides that of Ruth Perry. Last March, I wrote about three of them.  Having said this, Ruth Perry's sister, Professor Julia Waters, does not want OFSTED to be abolished. Professor Waters expressed her hopes that the new Head Inspector, Sir Martin Oliver would be more sympathetic to schools inspected by bringing in what he calls "The Big Listen". However, as the Professor says: 

 “How many more teachers will suffer from an inherently flawed, badly-run inspection process in the meantime? How many more children will lose another dedicated headteacher to a forced resignation, a nervous breakdown or worse?

That is a very good question. Another might be: what redress is there for past victims of OFSTED-related stress? For the five cases of suicide that I know of, namely: Janet Watson (1999), Keith Waller (2007), Jed Holmes (2007), Carol Woodward (2015) and, of course, Ruth Perry (2023), the putative changes in OFSTED to make inspections a less harrowing experience are coming far, far too late. 

Aid Workers Die: Another Gaza Tragedy

 After tens of thousands of civilians have been killed in Gaza, and outrage against Israel has understandably grown around the world, Israel has made matters much worse for itself by killing seven aid workers, three of whom were British. They are seen above: John Chapman, James Henderson and James Kirby were providing security for the detachment of three cars carrying aid. The other aid workers were an  Australian girl, Lalzawmi Frankcom, Damian Sobol from Poland, Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutahas, a Palestinian and a US-Canadian citizen, Jacob Flickinger.

There has been an international outpouring of anger and grief, as might have been expected. In Britain, as The Guardian says:

"David Cameron, the foreign secretary, spoke to his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, and requested an urgent explanation of the incident. A Downing Street spokesperson said the prime minister “was appalled… and demanded a thorough and transparent independent investigation into what happened”. The spokesperson added: “The prime minister said far too many aid workers and ordinary civilians have lost their lives in Gaza and the situation is increasingly intolerable".

The Israeli government is unlikely to pay much attention to what Rishi Sunak says, as the amount of arms that the UK sells to Israel is small in comparison to that of the United States. President Biden, to his credit, has expressed his shock in very strong terms. As NBC News says:

 "This conflict has been one of the worst in recent memory in terms of how many aid workers have been killed," Biden said..."This is a major reason why distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza has been so difficult — because Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians."

Biden made no indication of how US arms sales to Israel might be affected but, again as NBC News says: 

"The president's statement... comes as he faces growing criticism from progressives, Arab Americans and Muslims over his handling of the war. Some critics have urged Americans to “abandon Biden” at the ballot box or vote "uncommitted" in primaries."

There has been some media comment about the fact that over 30, 000 Palestinians have already died, but it has taken three British deaths to galvanise widespread anger about Israel's actions. And, in fact, it will be innocent Palestinians who suffer most as a consequence of this attack. Humanitarian bodies will be reluctant to work in Gaza out of fear for the safety of their staff. World Central Kitchen, for example, the charitable organisation which the seven slain aid workers worked for, is suspending its operations in Gaza to protect its workers. This could well lead to famine among Palestinian civilians.

I marvel at the fact that the Israeli government has failed to see that goodwill towards Israel worldwide is diminishing, to say the least. The deaths of these aid workers is only one incident among many that has led to condemnation. Whatever the eventual outcome or "settlement" of this war will be, Israel has created a huge amount of lasting enmity against itself. And some people will be very pleased about that...

From the paucity of news emanating from the front line, caused largely by the fact that foreign journalists are not allowed into Gaza, it appears that there is little actual fighting in the combat zones. It seems that Hamas fighters, like the one above, are hiding in tunnels, emerging to attack the IDF only when sure of a successful outcome. This has shades of the British Army's experience in Ulster. Shades of the American experience in Viet-Nam and the French experience in Algeria also, can be found in reports that the IDF troops are becoming bored, resentful and trigger-happy. This might explain why the IDF gunned down three escaping Israeli hostages trying to reach Israeli lines. 

If my analysis of Hamas strategy and their intentions in launching the October 7th attack is correct (and I think it is), they will be very pleased at how deeply the Israelis have dug a pit for themselves. Whether they be in their Gaza tunnels, or luxury flats in Qatar, Hamas operatives must be laughing themselves to sleep at night.