By Roland Oliphant

 

LONDON, 27 March. - (ANA) - The Iran war was launched on the basis of a lie, according to former UK ambassador to Iran Sir Richard Dalton.

 

American President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that the US-Israel offensive against Tehran was necessary because the Iranian regime posed an “imminent” threat to the West and was developing nuclear weapons.

 

But speaking to The Telegraph’s Iran: The Latest podcast, Sir Richard said: “It was a lie, they know that the [nuclear] fissile material was put beyond use by the June 2025 war.”

 

“It’s clear from American intelligence, stated most recently by Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence in her hearings on Capitol Hill, that the Iranians had made no attempt to reconstitute their enrichment program after the June attacks,” he added.

 

“So it’s propaganda put out by both Israel and America without any substantive detail, and the world is supposed to accept it, but the world has seen through it.”

 

A career diplomat before retiring in 2006, Sir Richard also shares his insights into why striking a deal with the regime will be so difficult at the moment.

 

Plus: will Israel’s assassination of the IRGC’s naval chief lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz?

 

Hosts Roland Oliphant and Venetia Rainey analyse the latest news from the Iran war, from the killing of navy commander Alireza Tangsiri to Donald Trump’s claim that Tehran is “begging” for a deal.

 

With thousands of US troops en route to the Middle East, the stakes are high. Among them are the 82nd Airborne Division; acting Defence Editor Tom Cotterill explains what sort of missions this elite group of paratroopers might be able to execute.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/27 March 2026 - - -