Cowardly Starmer has put Britain on the wrong side of history
There are cowards, there are the morally bankrupt, and then there is Sir Keir Starmer. Never one to miss an opportunity to humiliate Britain, the Prime Minister's cataclysmic misreading of the conflict in the Middle East has put him, and the UK, on the wrong side of history.
Instead of standing with Israel in its existential struggle to rid the world of a millenarian death cult intent on building nuclear weapons, Starmer found it easier to hoist the white flag.
Rather than offering to help shoot down Iranian missiles slaughtering Israeli civilians, the Prime Minister spent the past week calling for 'de-escalation' (and thus for the preservation of the genocidal nuclear programme); in lieu of pleading with Donald Trump to send B-2 stealth bombers to take out Iran's Fordow enrichment plant, Starmer chose to spout neo-pacifist verbiage and to demonstrate how embarrassingly little access and influence he retains in Washington.
To our great shame, at a moment of maximal global danger, the nation of Wilberforce and Churchill has chosen to go AWOL for the first time, betraying our friends and allies, making a mockery of our supposed values and admitting to the world that we are no longer a serious power.
What is even more galling is that Iran is one of our bitter enemies: its spies and propagandists operate in the UK, it has kidnapped and threatened our citizens and it despises us as one of two 'Little Satans' (the other is Israel) to America's Big Satan. We should be thanking Jerusalem for taking care of the Mullahs and the IRGC on our behalf, and yet our Government of non-entities is sitting on the sidelines, terrified of its Israelophobic electoral 'base'. What kind of country opposes a military intervention that will directly make its citizens safer?
The answer is an irrelevant one, which is what Britain has become under Labour. Everything has suddenly changed in the Middle East, no thanks to us – or, for that matter, Brussels or Paris.
The good guys are winning a key battle in the great global conflict that broke out when Russia invaded Ukraine. Israel and America are reestablishing Western deterrence after Joe Biden's half-hearted response to Vladimir Putin and following the debacle of the retreat from Afghanistan. They are well on their way to preempting a nuclear apocalypse. North Korea and Pakistan obtained the bomb, which was a disaster; Iran's defenestration amounts to a rare yet hugely important victory in the fight against atomic proliferation.
It is hard to exaggerate the outsized role that Israel is now playing, and how much it is aiding an ungrateful and ethically compromised Europe. By necessity and out of self-interest, it has become the West's praetorian guard, a nation of heroes dedicated to doing our dirty work for us, as well as a (not always comfortable) proxy of sorts for the US.
A tiny country the size of Wales, its population barely larger than London's, Israel is annihilating – from 1,000 miles away, in an unprecedented long-distance war – an oil-rich regional superpower that is nine times more populous and boasts a 75 times larger land area, while waging a conflict on seven fronts.
The Jewish state has demonstrated a level of military and strategic brilliance over the past year last witnessed from a Western nation in the Second World War. This isn't Desert Storm-style bulldozing; this is the real deal, a la Hannibal or Carl von Clausewitz, and it will be studied for centuries to come. It turns out that October 7 was Israel's Pearl Harbor, not its 9/11: its fightback has been astonishing, and is helping to undo the narrative of Western decline.
Israel has shrugged off a Blitz-style attack that no European country could have remotely coped with, and is emerging as the uncontested regional hegemon. America too might yet still be much more powerful than we realised; its weapons remain the best. The notion of a multi-polar world has been undermined: Russia and China were happy to use Iran, but aren't lifting a finger to defend it.
The forces of Islamism are in historic retreat: Israel's destruction of the Iranian proxy system is an even greater victory for Western civilisation than the ending of al-Qaeda and Islamic State. The regime pioneered modern Islamism and state terrorism; it funded Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, Iraqi Shia militias and the Houthis.
Some 2563 years after Cyrus the Great of Persia freed the Jews from captivity, Israel is returning the favour, with a little help from Trump. The Iranian people, savagely oppressed by the Mullahs, may soon liberate themselves; unlike in other Middle Eastern countries, where the opposition is often worse than the ruling tyrants, most ordinary Iranians are desperate for Westernisation.
Bereft of Iran's financial, military and psychological support, unable to siphon aid from the UN, Hamas could sue for a ceasefire, its leaders opting for exile in return for the hostages. Israel's triumph over Iran and its proxies, combined with the end of the war in Gaza, would undoubtedly be enough to precipitate an expansion of the Abraham Accords.
For all their flaws, Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump, if they finish the task at hand, would deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. I doubted both men – Trump looked as if he was going soft, and I feared Netanyahu, who now looks positively Churchillian, could never redeem himself for the October 7 pogroms happening on his watch. They appear to have proved me wrong.
It is striking how Europe's objections to Israel's actions – the alleged violation of international law, the militarism – embody all the pathologies that are eating away at the soul of our nations. Ever since Michel Foucault, a key figure in the woke movement, penned pro-Islamic revolution propaganda masquerading as journalism in 1978, much of the Left has had a blind spot for the regime. France even put up Ayatollah Khomeini in a luxury villa.
By defiling progressive pieties, Israel is mending the world. Netanyahu and Trump are drivers of history. They are changing rather than merely experiencing reality, unlike vapid non-player characters like Starmer or Emmanuel Macron. With the West being rescued from its own stupidity, perhaps now is the time to allow ourselves a fleeting moment of optimism.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Biden Diplomat: American Public Not Ready for Iran Intervention
"There's no question that the American public is not ready, has not been prepared, by the president or his administration for the prospect of US military intervention in Iran," says Barbara Leaf, former US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. Leaf suggests the fear is now that Israel's war aims have shifted from destroying Iran's nuclear program and attriting its military to regime change. "That opens up a Pandora's box of possibilities," she adds. (Source: Bloomberg)
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Trump's unpredictable Middle East moves actually follow a brilliant master plan
President Donald Trump came back into office promising no new wars. So far, he's kept that promise. But he's also left much of Washington — and many of America's allies — confused by a series of rapid, unexpected moves across the Middle East. In just a few months, Trump has reopened backchannels with Iran, then turned around and threatened its regime with collapse. He's kept Israel at arm's length — skipping it on his regional tour — before signaling support once again. He lifted U.S. sanctions on Syria's Islamist leader, a figure long treated as untouchable in Washington. And he made headlines by hosting Pakistan's top general at the White House, even as India publicly objected. For those watching closely, it's been hard to pin down a clear doctrine. Critics see improvisation — sometimes even contradiction. But step back, and a pattern begins to emerge. It's not about ideology, democracy promotion, or traditional alliances. It's about access. Geography. Trade. More specifically, it may be about restarting a long-stalled infrastructure project meant to bypass China — and put the United States back at the center of a strategic economic corridor stretching from India to Europe. The project is called the India–Middle East–Europe Corridor, or IMEC. Most Americans have never heard of it. It was launched in 2023 at the G20 summit in New Delhi, as a joint initiative among the U.S., India, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the European Union. Its goal? To build a modern infrastructure link connecting South Asia to Europe — without passing through Chinese territory or relying on Chinese capital. IMEC's vision is bold but simple: Indian goods would travel west via rail and ports through the Gulf, across Israel, and on to European markets. Along the way, the corridor would connect not just trade routes, but energy pipelines, digital cables, and logistics hubs. It would be the first serious alternative to China's Belt and Road Initiative — a way for the U.S. and its partners to build influence without boots on the ground. But before construction could begin, war broke out in Gaza. The October 2023 Hamas attacks and Israel's military response sent the region into crisis. Normalization talks between Saudi Arabia and Israel fell apart. The Red Sea became a warzone for shipping. And Gulf capital flows paused. The corridor — and the broader idea of using infrastructure to tie the region together — was quietly shelved. That's the backdrop for Trump's current moves. Taken individually, they seem scattered. Taken together, they align with the logic of clearing obstacles to infrastructure. Trump may not be drawing maps in the Situation Room. But his instincts — for leverage, dealmaking and unpredictability — are removing the very roadblocks that halted IMEC in the first place. His approach to Iran is a prime example. In April, backchannels were reopened on the nuclear front. In May, a Yemen truce was brokered — reducing attacks on Gulf shipping. In June, after Israeli strikes inside Iran, Trump escalated rhetorically, calling for Iran's "unconditional surrender." That combination of engagement and pressure may sound erratic. But it mirrors the approach that cleared a diplomatic path with North Korea: soften the edges, then apply public pressure. Meanwhile, Trump's temporary distancing from Israel is harder to miss. He skipped it on his regional tour and avoided aligning with Prime Minister Netanyahu's continued hard-line approach to Gaza. Instead, he praised Qatar — a U.S. military partner and quiet mediator in the Gaza talks — and signaled support for Gulf-led reconstruction plans. The message: if Israel refuses to engage in regional stabilization, it won't control the map. Trump also made the unexpected decision to lift U.S. sanctions on Syria's new leader, President Ahmad al-Sharaa — a figure with a past in Islamist groups, now leading a transitional government backed by the UAE. Critics saw the move as legitimizing extremism. But in practice, it unlocked regional financing and access to transit corridors once blocked by U.S. policy. Even the outreach to Pakistan — which angered India — fits a broader infrastructure lens. Pakistan borders Iran, influences Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, and maintains ties with Gulf militaries. Welcoming Pakistan's military chief was less about loyalty, and more about leverage. In corridor politics, geography often trumps alliances. None of this means Trump has a master plan. There's no confirmed strategy memo that links these moves to IMEC. And the region remains volatile. Iran's internal stability is far from guaranteed. The Gaza conflict could reignite. Saudi and Qatari interests don't always align. But there's a growing logic underneath the diplomacy: de-escalate just enough conflict to make capital flow again — and make corridors investable. That logic may not be ideologically pure. It certainly isn't about spreading democracy. But it reflects a real shift in U.S. foreign policy. Call it infrastructure-first geopolitics — where trade routes, ports and pipelines matter more than treaties and summits. To be clear, the United States isn't the only player thinking this way. China's Belt and Road Initiative has been advancing the same model for over a decade. Turkey, Iran and Russia are also exploring new logistics and energy corridors. But what sets IMEC apart — and what makes Trump's recent moves notable — is that it offers an opening for the U.S. to compete without large-scale military deployments or decades-long aid packages. Even the outreach to Pakistan — which angered India — fits a broader infrastructure lens. Pakistan borders Iran, influences Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, and maintains ties with Gulf militaries. For all his unpredictability, Trump has always had a sense for economic leverage. That may be what we're seeing here: less a doctrine than a direction. Less about grand visions, and more about unlocking chokepoints. There's no guarantee it will work. The region could turn on a dime. And the corridor could remain, as it is now, a partially built concept waiting on political will. But Trump's moves suggest he's trying to build the conditions for it to restart — not by talking about peace, but by making peace a condition for investment. In a region long shaped by wars over ideology and territory, that may be its own kind of strategy.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Gold prices slip as Trump sets two-week deadline over Iran-Israel conflict involvement
Gold prices slumped in early European trading on Friday morning, after US president Donald Trump set a two-week deadline to decide on whether the US would get directly involved in the Iran-Israel conflict. In a briefing on Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt read a message from Trump: "Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks." This provided some relief to investors who were concerned about the potential for more immediate US involvement in the conflict. Foreign ministers from UK, France and Germany are due to hold talks with Iranian officials in Geneva later on Friday to discuss Iran's nuclear programme. Read more: FTSE 100 LIVE: Markets upbeat as UK and EU begin talks on Iran and Trump sets two week deadline European stocks opened higher on Friday morning, on the back of Trump's two-week pause. Meanwhile, gold prices fell, signalling that investors had become less risk averse, as the precious metal is considered to act as a safe haven asset amid political and economic uncertainty. Gold futures (GC=F) were down 1.3% at $3,363.10 an ounce at the time of writing, while the spot gold price fell 0.7% to $3,348.84 per ounce. Neil Wilson, UK investor strategist at Saxo Markets, said: "Some temporary relief but not enough for anyone to hang their hats on properly as the situation remains way too unpredictable. "Base case has started to shift in the direction of direct US involvement, which opens up a pandora's box of mess, but markets seem to be clinging to expectation that it all remains contained like it has in the past. The meeting today is material and could shift the needle — stay sharp." Oil prices rose on Friday morning, trading at six-month highs, as investors assessed the latest developments around the Iran-Israel conflict. Brent crude futures (BZ=F) advanced 0.4% to $77 a barrel, at the time of writing, while West Texas Intermediate futures (CL=F) climbed 0.7% to trade at $75.66 a barrel. Stocks: Create your watchlist and portfolio Oil prices have surged over the past week, driven higher by concerns that the escalating conflict could lead to a disruption of global supply. There is particular focus on the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Iran, with around a fifth of global supplies passing through this channel. Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "For now, Iranian oil exports look to be unaffected with a report by Kpler suggesting tanker loadings had reached 2.2 million barrels per day so far this week, a five-week high. "Price support looks firm on the demand side after US crude inventories plummeted by 10.1 million barrels compared to a forecasted fall of just 0.6 million." The pound edged higher 0.1% against the dollar (GBPUSD=X) on Friday, trading at $1.3472 at the time of writing, helped by weakness in the greenback. The US dollar index ( which tracks the greenback against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.3% to 98.66. The muted currency moves came as investors weighed the latest UK economic data releases. Data published on Friday showed that UK government borrowing rose to £17.7bn in May, which was up from £17bn a year earlier. Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell (AJB.L), said: "May's borrowing came in at the highest ever for the month outside of the pandemic and will only add to speculation that the chancellor will have to announce more spending cuts or further tax increases at the next budget if she wants to meet her fiscal rules and pay for her spending plans." Read more: Why bitcoin and gold are rallying as bond yields hit 30-year highs Separate data, also released on Friday, showed that UK retail sales slumped 2.7% in May, which was much lower than the average forecast of a 0.5% fall in a Reuters poll. "How much people are prepared to spend in the shops is a good indication of how confident consumers are feeling, or not, about their personal finances," said Hewson. 'It's interesting that on the day the latest the latest GfK survey suggests people were feeling a little less nervous in May after April's bill hikes, retail figures show sales in the same period were significantly down." In other currency moves, the pound was little changed against the euro (GBPEUR=X), trading at €1.1704 at the time of writing. More broadly, the UK's FTSE 100 (^FTSE) rose 0.5% to 8,838 points at the time of writing. For more details, on broader market movements check our live coverage here. Read more: Looming petrol price increase could hit fragile consumer confidence Bank of England holds interest rates at 4.25% amid inflation fears Eurozone inflation falls below ECB target to 1.9%Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Melden Sie sich an, um Ihr Portfolio aufzurufen. Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten
