Britain should offer Israel aid, not lectures
Israel's strikes on Iran's nuclear programme were a necessary act of self-defence. The Iranian state, which has called repeatedly for Israel's destruction, is hell-bent on obtaining the shield of nuclear weapons. It has seen how North Korea has been able to hide behind its weapons programme and wield it as a tool in negotiations with the South and the United States, and intends to obtain the same degree of protection from external pressure.
When Iranian leaders have 'brazenly, openly called for Israel's destruction' – as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu pointed out yesterday – this would be an outcome that Jerusalem cannot see come to pass.
With the International Atomic Energy Agency declaring Tehran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations and no realistic prospect of a US-brokered deal that would take Iran off a pathway to the bomb, Israel's hands were effectively tied; when intelligence indicated that the regime had sufficient material to assemble weapons in short order, the decision was taken to dismantle that weapons programme rather than wait and face what Mr Netanyahu called 'the threat of annihilation '.
Friday's strikes against Israel underlined the threat the regime still poses. While US president Donald Trump had urged Tehan to reach a deal or face 'slaughter', Iran instead fired dozens of ballistic missiles as Israel ordered its citizens to shelters. Apparent impacts were filmed in Tel Aviv amid a flurry of interceptor launches.
Israel's ambassador to the United Nations has stated bluntly that strikes will 'continue' until his country has 'eliminated the threats from Iran'. This is the correct approach, and one that deserves our backing.
Yet while Sir Keir Starmer has at last managed to bring himself to express 'concerns, grave concerns' about Tehran's nuclear ambitions and to 'recognise Israel's right to self-defence', the Prime Minister is still somehow calling for 'de-escalation'.
The time for half-measures is long passed. Iran already funds a Middle East-wide network of proxies which carry out acts of terror against Israel and the West, and poses a direct threat on British soil. If it were to obtain the protection of nuclear weapons, it would only be emboldened.
As much as it appears to have passed Sir Keir by, it remains true that a desire for peace is not a virtue when it permits terrible outcomes.
Rather than attempting to talk Mr Netanyahu into changing course or offering pointed remarks about escalation, Britain should be offering Israel our thanks, and our assistance. It is in our interest, and that of the wider West, to bring an end to the possibility of a nuclear-armed Iran once and for all.
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