THE shock death of Iran's President could have chilling repercussions on Britain's streets as the Foreign Office stands accused of napping on the job.
Ex-Defence Secretary Sir Liam Fox warned the Iranian "thugocracy" will now unleash even greater fury against Western allies after Ebrahim Raisi's death.
The president and seven others were killed when a helicopter they were travelling in crashed in a mountainous area of Iran on Sunday.
Raisi - also known as the Butcher of Tehran for his role in the mass execution of political prisoners - had long been regarded as the natural successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the highest authority in Iran.
Speaking to The Sun's telly show Never Mind The Ballots, former Tory Cabinet Minister Sir Liam insisted it is "inexplicable" Britain has not yet placed the notorious Revolutionary Guard on the proscribed terror list.
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He then backed ex-defence boss Ben Wallace for criticising Foreign Office mandarins after they drew up a condolences message for "evil" Raisi.
Civil servants in the FCDO drew up a statement expressing condolences over the “tragedy” of the death of the hard-line Iranian president – but ministers refused to use it.
Asked if he agreed with Mr Wallace's assessment that "Foreign Office HQ is where British interests go to die", Sir Liam said: "I would be dishonest if I didn't say I had some sympathy with what Ben Wallace has written there.
"We need always be placing our national interests front and centre.
"And I think that sometimes means challenging the orthodoxy that places like the Foreign Office represent."
Sir Liam described Raisi as "one of the most evil figures in that region".
As for Iran's future, Sir Liam painted a grim picture, adding: "Iran is what I described as a thugocracy, which is an oppressive state run by criminals, but it's got a dangerous theocracy on top of it.
"And so as they begin to lose their grip, I think we will see what we've seen in most dictatorial states, which is that they will increase their levels of oppression until they can do it no longer."
Issuing a dire warning for both Iran and Britain, Sir Liam said: "So in the short term, I don't think there is a good outcome in terms of the people of Iran or its neighbours or even the countries that it takes aim at, including ourselves, in exporting terrorism.
"But in the longer term, I think you have to expect that sooner or later you will get reformed and you'll get the Mad mullahs replaced by something a bit more rational."
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On calls to class Tehran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation, Sir Liam said: "I find it inexplicable that we haven't proscribed the Revolutionary Guard.
"They have been involved in all this repression."
He went on: “And while we're at it, we might want to ask ourselves, why Iranian Iran Air which was responsible for taking Iranian drones to Russia is still operating from Heathrow Airport and why Iranian banks are still operating in the City of London?”
