The hard-Left leader accused Donald Trump of murdering Ayatollah Ali Khamenei while at the “negotiating table”.
Zack Polanski has come under fire for his comments on Iran (Image: BBC)
Green Party leader Zack Polanski was slammed for ignorning the Iranian regime slaughtering their own people as he condemned American and Israeli military strikes.
The hard-Left leader accused Donald Trump of murdering Ayatollah Ali Khamenei while at the “negotiating table”.
And Mr Polanski said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer must appear on television to criticise US strikes on Tehran.
Israel and the US conducted 900 strikes in 12 hours on military bases, nuclear sites and government buildings across Iran using F-35s, F-22s and – for the first time – one-way attack drones.
Ali Khamenei was killed in the strikes, Donald Trump revealed.
But Mr Polanski sensationally called for talks with the Iranian regime – despite them killing thousands of protesters demanding regime change.
BBC host Laura Kuenssberg asked Mr Polanski: “What would your alternative be? Clearly, you don’t like it, but Israel and America made the calculation it seems it’s very clear.
“If what it took was strikes to end a repressive regime, it was worth it. So what would your alternative be? Well, I don’t accept the presuppition of the question.”
Squirming Mr Polanski said: “I don’t think it took strikes, because actually, Iran were already at the negotiating table, under President Obama, we saw progress with Iran. Donald Trump took them to a negotiation table, but it was clear it was totally bad faith, because they literally murdered the leader at the same time at the negotiation table.”
Mrs Kuenssberg hit back: “But that leader murdered many of his own people just weeks ago, and if you look at the pattern of Iran over the years, yes, there have been negotiations, but the international nuclear watchdog, for example, has upbaded and reprimanded Iran on many occasions for breaking its rules. Iran’s been supporting Russia against Ukraine, Iran has planned plots in this country, too. So what earthly evidence do you have that Iran would have said, “Oh, okay, actually, we’ll listen to you this time?”
And Mr Polanski insisted: “Well, I’m hearing no way to defend the Iranian regime. I’m here to defend and speak up of the Iranian people.”
The BBC presenter continued: “But the question is, why do you think that negotiation could have been an option here? What evidence do you have of that when it’s failed for decades?”
And the hard-left leader said: “Because for the moment you’ve ruled out negotiation, you’ve accepted that you’re going to war, and I don’t think the British people want to see another war in that region.”
The US and Israel described the attacks as a “pre-emptive” strike against a Tehran government intent on developing nuclear weapons.
Talks between the US and Iran aimed at resolving the issue of Tehran’s nuclear ambitions ended on Thursday without agreement, but were expected to resume at a later date.
Mr Polanski told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “We’ve seen what I would say is an illegal and unprovoked attack.
“We’ve got a Defence Secretary saying that diplomacy is the long runway we need but won’t condemn Donald Trump when he attacks a country and assassinates its leader.
“That’s the law of the jungle. That’s an end to international law.
“It’s quite astounding that we have a Prime Minister that seems singularly incapable of standing up to Donald Trump and letting the UK stand on its own two feet, and I’m worried the UK is going to be pulled into another illegal war.”
Saturday’s attack prompted retaliation from Iran, with strikes reported in several Gulf countries including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Hundreds of thousands of British nationals are believed to be present in the Gulf, and those in Bahrain, Israel, Palestine, Qatar and the UAE have been urged to register their presence with the Foreign Office.
Iranian retaliatory strikes landed within “a few hundred yards” of British troops in Bahrain, the Defence Secretary said.
John Healey told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme: “This is a really serious and deteriorating situation, (with) rising risks of increasing Iranian indiscriminate retaliatory attacks.
“Let me give you a couple examples. Yesterday, we had 300 personnel on that Bahrain base that was attacked by Iranian missiles and drones, some of them within a few hundred yards of where they landed.
“We had two missiles fired in the direction of Cyprus.
“We don’t believe they were targeted at Cyprus, but nevertheless, it’s an example of how there is a very real and rising threat from a regime that is lashing out widely across the region, and that requires us to act.”
Mr Healey also warned that Iranian missile commanders were “increasingly allowed to choose their own targets” as the country was “losing its command and control”.
