Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has made Hezbollah into the force it is today – and its expanding activities in this country beggar belief. Surely the best course of action is to proscribe it.
Our policy needs to be joined up, realistic and deliverable. The era of wishful thinking, of hoping that Iran will change, must be confined to history.
The danger is that the conflict slowburns into a wider one, with hostilities between Israel and Iran’s proxies accelerating, and knock-on consequences for inflation and Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Although support for Netanyahu and his ministers, already unpopular before the war, has dwindled since its start, this has not impacted the nation’s resolve.
Doing so will be immensely difficult and will involve fighting in densely populated urban areas, creating enormous risks for both the Israel Defence Forces forces and Gazan civilians.
And the UK must counter Tehran’s attempts to harm the Abraham Accords by using our extensive and historic ties in the region to expand its list of signatories.
During the half century since the Yom Kippur war took place, conflict abroad has increasingly meant consequences here.
The current protests are economic in nature, but build on discontent and cynicism with a monarchy that stifles debate while failing to deliver improving living standards.
If the system had once been able to accommodate hopes for reform, dividing moderate and radical opponents, now it has dashed them completely. Everyone who’s not with the regime has turned against it.
It at least gives hope that, after the chaos and corruption of the last decade, some limited change and political accountability might at last be possible.
The Middle East had been entering a period of relative calm, but Putin’s aggression in Europe puts it at risk.
The most important task is the resolution of the constitutional crisis and a return to the normal democratic process.
That country needs assistance in making the transition to responsible, accountable democracy after a generation of corrupt leadership.
It is imperative to grasp the group’s objectives, doctrines, and expansion tactics. Employing a combination of both soft and hard power measures is essential, targeting not only Hezbollah but also its allies and associates globally.