Disgraced anti-Zionist academic David Miller has received scathing criticism on a left-wing forum for his views on Iran in a debate on the protests sweeping the country following the death of Mahsa Amini.

During a discussion on Red Line TV, Mr Miller maintained that Ms Amini – whose death followed her arrest for not wearing a hijab - was not murdered. He further claimed that what was happening in Iran was “an armed insurrection from the outside which is being directed by the US and by Israel through their proxies”.

He also declared: “Do you think that Palestine can be liberated without the Islamic Republic of Iran? Of course it can’t. It’s absurd – an absurd position.”

This remark sparked an incredulous response from Iranian scholar Yassamine Mather, chair of Hands Off the People of Iran (Hopi).

“This idea that Palestine can only be liberated by a country that has no respect for anyone in its own borders is a joke,” she countered. “It’s unbelievable to say something like that.”

Pressed by Jewish anti-Zionist Graham Bash on whether he supported the rights of women to dress as they pleased, Mr Miller responded: “Are you asking me about sex work and the status of sex workers?”

Mr Bash also said he was “a bit devastated” about Mr Miller’s views on Iran and Syria, explaining: “If Iran and Syria are the bulwarks of the resistance to Imperialism; the bulwarks of the struggle for Socialism, then let me make it clear - I don’t want anything to do with this kind of struggle.”

Mr Miller was a professor of political sociology fired by the University of Bristol in October 2021 after an internal investigation found he “did not meet the standards of behaviour [we] expect from [our] staff”.