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Washington Pressured London to Improve Ties with Hafez al-Assad | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Margaret Thatcher’s mission program and visits endorsed Israel’s significance and advance over neighboring countries in all scientific, political, and cultural spheres


Margaret Thatcher's mission program and visits endorsed Israel's significance and advance over neighboring countries in all scientific, political, and cultural spheres

Margaret Thatcher’s mission program and visits endorsed Israel’s significance and advance over neighboring countries in all scientific, political, and cultural spheres

London- Previously confidential documents, dating back to 1986-1988 closing-in on the end of the Iraqi-Iranian war, recently revealed by the British government uncover intelligence activities, assassinations, and the hijack of the Kuwaiti plane.

On British-Syrian affairs, the documents unveiled that during one of the sessions, Geoffrey Howe Foreign Secretary at the time, had said that he was being pressured by Washington and European countries to reach a settlement with Syrian former President Hafez al-Assad’s administration.

Howe was compelled to reach a resolution despite his conviction of Assad’s support of terrorist activities.

During a cabinet session, former FM Howe had explained that the British government is being pressed by the U.S. and members of the European Economic Community to undertake acceptable and more realistic policies when dealing with Syria. However, Howe reaffirmed that the UK still considers Syria’s support for terrorism an unchanged obstacle.

The documents point out that the British government believed that the Iraqi-Iranian war would continue, and its recent predictions on Iran coming out victorious were losing significance. Nonetheless, they did mention that any demoralization taking toll over Basra would give Iran a greater chance for achieving military victory which could result in Iraqi President Saddam Hussein taking a plunge, and that was what Iran had aimed at originally.

One of the documents exposed that Islamic Jihad Organization, a Hezbollah-affiliate terrorist organization responsible for aircraft hijack and monetary extortion, was behind the Kuwait Airways Flight 422 Boeing 747 jumbo jet hijacked en route from Bangkok, Thailand, to Kuwait on April 5, 1988.

UK administration believes that Imad Mughniyah, a senior member of Lebanon’s Islamic Jihad Organization and Hezbollah, is the mastermind behind the 422 hijack. Even if solid proof on Iranian accomplice on the hijack are present; however, there are markers on the plane, when it landed at the Mashhad International Airport, to have received with arms and explosives along with an additional group boarding over with hijackers.

Documents also prove that Algeria offered its well-intended help in such conflicts, such as when it mediated to resolve the hostage case between the U.S. and Iran. The British government had warned Algeria on its late commitment to international law. Algeria should either prosecute the hijackers or deport them to other countries in which they would be held accountable for their crimes.