Ministers ducked for political cover yesterday after activists blamed Britain’s own arms sales for fuelling Iraq’s descent into chaos.
In Britain Tory Foreign Secretary William Hague told MPs he had spoken privately with Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif about the crisis which has seen extremist Sunni Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) fighters chalk up major gains.
But Mr Hague, who suffered a humiliating defeat last year when MPs voted against attacking Syria, refused to blame the crisis on US-British intervention from 2003.
Trump threatens war and punitive tariffs to recapture Iranian resources – just as in 1953, when the CIA overthrew Mossadegh and US corporations immediately seized 40% of the oil, says SEVIM DAGDELEN
On January 2 2014, PJ Harvey used her turn as guest editor of the Today programme to expose the realities of war, arms dealing and media complicity. The fury that followed showed how rare – and how threatening – such honesty is within Britain’s most Establishment broadcaster, says IAN SINCLAIR


