As the Middle East stands on the brink of war, there should be no doubt about the choice the West has to make irrespective of who is elected US president in November. The removal of the threat posed by the Iranian regime has to become a strategic priority, as it poses an existential threat not only to Israel and the Gulf states but the wider world too. The clock is ticking if we are to prevent the real risk of a potential third, non-conventional world war – a war that has the potential to wreak destruction on much of the civilized world.
There should be no mistake that if the US and NATO fail to take the necessary steps and the Iranian regime continues with its nuclear program, Israel will take whatever action is necessary to protect its own security. It will do so with the overt support of Arab allies and the covert support of other Arab countries that know a nuclear Iran will seek not only to destroy Israel but also take over the Arab world in order to impose its theological dogma.
A better way forward would be for the West to give the Iranians a final ultimatum on ending its nuclear program and sponsorship of global terrorism, backed up by a timeline to the toughest of sanctions with a particular focus on the regimes’ internal security force, the Revolutionary Guard.
Members of the guard should know that not only their freedom to travel but their personal security will be at risk if the regime refuses to change course. There will be no Western troops on the ground but the regime and their forces of internal oppression need to know all other options remain open.
The Iranian regime should be left under no illusion that they are in the “last chance saloon,” and the 80% of the Iranian people who despise them need to know the West will no longer go “soft” on a regime that only survives due to horrendous internal oppression. The Iranian people need to know when the time comes they will have our support to build a new Iran, which can once again stand tall in the world as a bastion of freedom, moderation, and culture.
This is not a clash of civilizations. The seriousness of the threat posed by the Iranian regime unites Israel and the vast majority of Arab states. Their theologically-based ideology views Jews, their fellow Muslims, and Westerners of all faiths and none as evil foes who are legitimate targets for violence and ultimate defeat.
Their use of proxies against Israel is an attempt to mask their real agenda and mobilize and galvanize Muslim support across the world.
Iran's proxies don't care for Palestinians
Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis care nothing about the cause of the Palestinian people. They are directed by their rogue state, which sponsors their mission to undermine any prospects of peace.
They vigorously oppose a two-state solution or any other solution that leaves Israel as a democratic Jewish state. Their mission is a one-state solution whereby Israel becomes an Islamist Palestine.
I STRONGLY agree with those who argue the need for an urgent and new plan that will give the Palestinians hope for a better future. This is essential alongside a new approach to the Iranian regime. However, the current Iranian regime cares nothing for the suffering of the Palestinian people and has no interest in any plan that would leave Israel secure and at peace with her neighbors.
These proxies are wholly owned subsidiaries of Iran with no independent power. It is the Iranian regime that has the power to end both the war in Gaza and prevent a full-scale military conflict in Lebanon. They can instruct Hamas to release the hostages and lay down their arms, and they can force Hezbollah to end their rocket attacks with immediate effect. They choose not to do so.
It is perverse that the International Criminal Court is considering issuing arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. It is the leaders of Iran who should be facing such sanctions.
It is long overdue for the West to wake up and realize this is a fight for freedom and stability in the Middle East and across the world. It is a reality that caused the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco to make peace with Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Arab and Muslim-majority countries, which are ready to do the same once the current conflicts are over. It is very likely that the barbaric atrocities committed by Hamas against Israeli civilians on October 7 were directed by Iran specifically to sabotage Israel-Saudi normalization talks.
So, the stakes could not be higher: a weak West emboldening the Iranian regime and risking a war that could easily become global and nuclear, or a new strategy that removes the threat from the regime, empowers the Iranian people and creates the foundations for a peaceful and stable Middle East.
Normalized relations between Israel and the greater part of Arab and Muslim-majority countries, together with a new plan for Palestinian dignity and self-governance, would change the world order. It would strike a mortal blow to the Islamist extremists who use anti-Western, anti-Israel propaganda to corrode the fabric of their own communities and threaten security and community cohesion across Europe.
Once again, our leaders face a historic choice: appeasement and mutual destruction, or the courage to define and defeat evil.
The writer served as the UK minister for the Middle East, 2009-2010, and was an MP for Bury South, 1997 to 2019.