Anas Sarwar condemns father for praising ‘brutal’ Iranian Ayatollah
The Scottish Labour leader said his father, a former Labour MP and governor of Punjab, was ‘wrong’ to pay tribute to the Islamist dictator.
The leader of Scottish Labour has condemned his father for praising Iran’s “brutal” Ayatollah after he was killed in US-Israeli air strikes.
Anas Sarwar said Mohammad Sarwar was “wrong” to post a tribute to Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, who has killed thousands of civilians in the country.
His father, a former Glasgow Labour MP and later the governor of Punjab, described the Islamist dictator as a “martyr”.
He said the Muslim world had been deprived of a “strong voice of resistance” following his death on Saturday.
According to X’s translation of his tweet, which was in Urdu, Sarwar senior said: “Our hearts are saddened by the martyrdom of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
“The Muslim Ummah has lost a strong voice of resistance.
“May Allah grant him Paradise. We share the grief of the Iranian nation equally.”
Speaking to the Press Association at Glasgow Airport, Mr Sarwar said he did not agree with his father’s comments.
“He’s wrong,” the Scottish Labour leader said.
“My view is that the leader of Iran has been a brutal dictator that has obviously done many bad things to his own citizens, has threatened many of his neighbours, has funded countless attacks, has been behind several threats to our own country here, and I think there will be lots of people who have very strong views about what he was like as an individual, or what that regime was like.
“In terms of the broader situation, look, this is a really dangerous time.
“It’s a dangerous time, of course for Iran itself, but it’s a dangerous time for the entire region, and what needs to happen really quickly is a de-escalation and an end to the war.
“That means no nuclear capability for Iran, of course, but it also means freedom and peace and security for all the nations across the broader Middle East, and that has to be our priority.”
Speaking to reporters, Mr Sarwar suggested he was “embarrassed” by his father’s social media posts.
Asked if he found the situation with his father difficult, he said: “It’s not difficult at all. I have my view, he has his. He expresses a view, I disagree with it, deeply disagree with it.
“But I’m a 42-year-old man, and what people say, or their fathers say, I’m sure many of us get embarrassed by what our old man says, often in normal life, never mind publicly.”
Mr Sarwar also told reporters that he had not spoken to his father about his comments.
It comes as Prime Minister Keir Starmer has granted the US permission to use its military base in Diego Garcia to target Iran, following the Labour leader’s initial refusal to do so.
On Sunday, Sir Keir said US forces would be allowed to operate from British bases against Iran, but only in a limited role targeting missile sites.
The Scottish Labour leader, who has called for the Prime Minister to resign, appeared to back the move, given attacks on neighbouring countries including the UAE and Bahrain, where thousands of British citizens are.
He told PA: “We do have a duty to make sure we are protecting our allies, protecting our infrastructure, protecting our citizens in these nations and beyond.
“So, supporting defensive operations, I think, is the right thing to do, but it’s also right that the UK is not part of any offensive action.”
