It is rare that a newspaper like the Financial Times will think that there is only one real headline news story, but that is the case today. This comes from one of its emails this morning:
Every one of those stories relates to the conflict between Israel and Iran, and the role of other states in what is happening.
I did not have time to talk about this issue yesterday. I was, in fact, returning from a week away in Wales, although as readers here will have noted, this did not much interrupt the overall flow of either blog or YouTube traffic that I generated. This morning, I have a little more time and some thoughts to share.
Firstly, let's be clear that US intelligence sources said in March this year that Iran did not have a nuclear weapons program that threatened Israel. Mishal Hussein referred to this on Bloomberg yesterday, when interviewing Keir Starmer, and I am sure that her sources were impeccable. There is not, in other words, any self-defence justification for Israel undertaking these attacks. Iran's nuclear installations are not, according to the best US intelligence, a threat to it. As a consequence, anyone relying on this defence, as are the governments of the USA, the UK, France and Germany, is spreading misinformation, and in a situation like this, where lives are most definitely at risk, that is not forgivable.
Secondly, in that case, this attack must be seen for what it is, which is yet another diversion by Benjamin Netanyahu to deflect attention from his own trials for corruption, and now from Gaza. Like all fascist leaders, he is dependent upon ever-increasing scales of chaos to provide his own situation with the defence that he requires. Trump's position, which is fully supportive of Israel, unlike, it must be admitted, the governments of the UK, Germany and France, is no doubt relying on that chaos which these attacks create for exactly the same reasons.
Thirdly, and importantly, in that case, all discussion of criticism of Israeli actions as being antisemitic is, in this environment, wholly inappropriate. This is not a war about the right of Israel to exist, nor is it being conducted in defence of Jewish interests. It is being conducted in defence of the interests of Benjamin Netanyahu, and those are not those of all Jews.
Fourthly, as is so obviously the case in so many of the conflicts in which Benjamin Netanyahu has become involved, there is no obvious endgame to what is currently being undertaken. Just as Netanyahu has begun a conflict against Iran, when that country has no nuclear capacity capable of attacking Israel, or the means to create that capacity at present, or a desire to invade Israel itself, neither does Netanyahu have the capacity to end this conflict. It is unlikely that he has the resources to entirely eliminate Iran's nuclear capability, which does exist and is known about because it is subject to international surveillance on a regular basis, with the cooperation of the Iranian state. Nor has he the capacity to invade Iran, and there will be no advantage to him doing so. In other words, in military terms, what he is doing is skirmishing, with no intention of seeking to resolve a situation. This fact strongly supports my second suggestion.
Fifthly, as Trump's comments have made clear, this conflict fits into my concept of the Age of Aggression. Trump's threat to Iran is very straightforward. Trump's demand is that Iran either does what the USA, via Netanyahu, demands, or he will kill Iranians. There is no hint of negotiation within this approach. Nor is there any indication of an attempt to define common ground. It would appear that diplomacy has been dispensed with, with Trump and Netanyahu resorting to plain, straightforward thuggery instead.
So, what should the UK government be doing in response to this situation?
Firstly, it should condemn Israel's actions. There appears to be no intelligence justification for them. They are acts of international aggression.
Secondly, it should be distancing itself from Trump on this issue. His comments are utterly unacceptable.
Thirdly, we should be making clear that there is no Jewish element in this conflict, which is being promoted by a neo-fascist in defence of his own self-interest whilst he remains in government office.
Fourthly, we should be making clear that Iran has the right to defend itself. It is incomprehensible that our present ministers are saying that Israel is in this situation, despite it being the aggressor, whilst ignoring Iran's right to self-defence. I am no more a fan of the government of Iran than I am of the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, but it is clear which of them is the bigger threat at present.
Fifthly, the time has come to sanction Israel. This time did, in fact, come a long time ago, but let's ignore history at the moment. Having just a couple of Israeli cabinet ministers subject to sanctions at present is utterly meaningless when the whole of the Israeli government is engaged in international war crimes. Not only should all of that cabinet, and all of the senior military commanders who are supporting its actions, be subject to sanctions as a precursor to potential criminal charges, but so too should the state of Israel be subject to sanctions at present precisely because that is the most effective weapon that we have against this state that has gone rogue and is a threat to world stability.
There should be blocks on imports of many Israeli goods and services.
Most particularly, there should be a block put on the supply of financial services to Israel, including the facilitation of international payments to and from that state, as well as the provision of services to support the financing of its ongoing war efforts. I am quite sure that large quantities of such financial services are supplied from London, making this country deeply complicit in what Israel is doing. The time has come for that to end.
Saying this, I make clear that the sanctions must make apparent what their purpose is. The conditions should be:
- The end of the war in Gaza.
- The end of the occupation of Gaza.
- The end of attacks in the West Bank.
- The end of Netanyahu's government.
- The negotiation of new settlement arrangements for Palestinians, to be upheld by international peacekeeping forces, supported by Israeli and international funds for the reconstruction of their territories.
- The end of other regional aggression, which does not negate the right to self-defence, is something entirely different.
I am sure those can be refined. My point, however, is simple: it is time to say that we have had enough of this fascist aggression. There would, of course, also be conditions required for Hamas, Iran and others to comply with: this is not a one-sided issue, but the creation of insufferable chaos is entirely Netanyahu's fault, and it has to end, and end now. A line has to be drawn in the sand: the government of Israel has to go. Peace requires it. That is sufficient justification for action.
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You make all the points I had noted.
Just to add this. Trump’s polices have one overwhelming priority. To make him look good and please his voters who are very pro-Israel. ( See the way Fox News covers it )
It seems much of his foreign policy rhetoric around both Ukraine and Israel, to make a claim for the Nobel Peace Prize.
He has made it obvious he is backing Israel. Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia is furious. The Arabs in the street are furious. Trump’s Abraham Accords will go the way of Gerard Kushner’s ‘Peace Plan.’ There will be no peace prize.
Foreign policy needs to rational and based on realism, not the ego of a leader.
I listened live to the Iranian, Israeli and US ambassadors to the United Nations addressing an emergency session of the UN Security Council last night.
The Israeli presentation was hysterical and full of fake information to justify their attack on Iran. The US warned Iran not to attack US assets in the Middle East region ( there are many US military land bases, plus aircraft carriers ). The wronged Iranian Ambassador was diplomatically cool, measured but very clear Israel was the unjustified aggressor. It had de facto declared war on Iran. And its attacks on Iran’s safeguarded( internationally monitored) nuclear facilities is a war crime and counter to several UN Security Council resolutions. Meantime, The once-serious Times newspaper lead editorial today asserts Israel was right to attack Iran’s nuclear complex. For the Times, the international rule of law apparently does not apply to the Jewish State.This kind of selective exceptionalism is a slippery slope to geo-political anarchy.
There is a need to be coolheaded in a situation like this. We have seen where propaganda on such matters has taken us already this century, and I do not wish to go there again. The United Nations is monitoring Iran’s nuclear installations, and there is no evidence that there is a threat to Israel from them. That is the evidence that I need, and will rely upon.
When Israel previously attacked Iran, Britain defended Israel from the Iranian retaliation with no adverse consequences. This time Iran says that if Britain defends Israel it will be regarded as an aggressor.
Keir Starmer has sent British fighter jets to the Middle East and refused to answer when asked if we would defend Israel.
Israel justified attacking Iran by saying there was an imminent, existential threat from Iran. Before involving this country in another war Keir Starmer needs to demonstrate to the country that that statement was true.
Agreed
A report in the Guardian I saw today says that before the attack, Netanyahu’s government narrowly missed a dissolution vote (see Moustafa Bayoumi – ‘Benjamin Netanyahu Has To Be Stopped’). So, your comment is in the right ball park for me at least. This is so redolent of what happened in Iraq.
We hear about Iran’s proxies – but I still feel that Israel is tolerated as a Western proxy – a gate into the mineral and oil rich area. We are told that Israel is the only democracy in the region – which means by Western poor standards, there is NO democracy in the region as far as I am concerned.
Along with the Zionists in Israel, we have to put up with Zionists, anti-Semites (yes – the go anywhere but not here please brigade) , racists and Muslim-haters over here who attach little importance to the life of the people of Gaza and ordinary Iranians let alone Jews everywhere who just want to live in peace.
This whole thing is an outrage but seems to be unfortunately ‘ business as usual. Because it is based on seizing assets, that’s why.
[…] Israel's attacks on Iran are utterly unjustified, as I have explained this morning. […]
Agreed, thank you for sticking with this.
If readers haven’t yet written to their MP to make it clear that if…
1. They are a member of the UK government (from PPS upward to PM
or
2. They are an MP taking the Labour whip who is not publicly calling for and voting for sanctions against Israel with a clear time limit after which they will resign the Labour whip
OR
3. They an opposition or independent MP who is not publicly calling for and voting for sanctions against Israel
then they are personally morally, and in the case of government members, legally complicit in war crimes
then please do so. If you have already written then please write again.
And for David Cameron’s benefit, please see this story:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=David+cameron+ICC+middle+east+eye&t=fpas&ia=web
As you can see, the MSM are avoiding it like the plague, so please do spread it about. A decent account here:
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/could-david-cameron-be-prosecuted-threatening-icc
and if you are doing this, then, thank-you, shuchran.
OK. Looks as though a case could start in either Uk courts or the ICC. I wonder what the modalities are.
And if he was guilty – (& it certainly sounds as if he is) I’d go for the 5 years in jail sentence. He could entertain prisoners in Den Hague with tales of Eton & the Bullingdon club 0 I’m sure they would be riveted by the over-entitled toff.
“if the UK is committed to maintaining a system based on the rule of law with full respect for the state’s international treaty obligations it should open an investigation”………..IF
(the film of same name seems smoehow entirely apposite).
Here are some tangible steps we can take in how we use our money and who we support.
Several major companies are repeatedly identified by credible organisations (including the UN, Amnesty, and B’Tselem) as complicit in Israeli violations of international law, especially in the occupied Palestinian territories.
These include:
HP Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise – Their technology underpins Israel’s biometric ID system for Palestinians and surveillance of the population under occupation.
Caterpillar – Supplies armoured bulldozers used to demolish Palestinian homes and infrastructure.
Elbit Systems – An Israeli arms manufacturer supplying drones and other weapons used in Gaza. Several UK protests have targeted their factories.
Puma – Sponsors the Israel Football Association, which includes clubs based in illegal settlements.
AXA – Previously held investments in arms companies and Israeli banks involved in settlement finance.
Barclays – Accused of holding shares in arms companies supplying Israel. Campaigners have asked it to divest from companies such as Boeing, General Dynamics, and Elbit.
You can avoid buying from these companies, or ask your pension provider or bank whether they invest in them.
Local councils and universities may be pressured to divest public funds, as many did in the case of apartheid South Africa.
None of this is about targeting people or faith groups. It’s about accountability for business involvement in systemic injustice.
Donations can help save lives too. Here are some of the most respected and effective humanitarian agencies operating on the ground:
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) – A UK-based charity providing emergency medical relief, trauma care, and long-term support for Gaza’s shattered health system. Deeply trusted and regularly cited by UN agencies.
UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency) – Provides food, education, and healthcare to millions of Palestinian refugees. It came under political attack earlier this year, but most donors have resumed funding and the need remains overwhelming.
Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) – Specialises in treating injured and ill Palestinian children, both locally and via international partnerships.
Islamic Relief and Christian Aid – Both are long-established UK charities with strong reputations and work in Gaza without religious discrimination.
Al Mezan and Al-Haq – Palestinian human rights NGOs conducting rigorous documentation of violations. Supporting their work helps uphold legal accountability.
Yes the threat is from the far right who are in power, Netanyahu, Trump, Putin, Milei, Meloni, Farage, Le Pen… the idea that the far left is an equivalent threat at the moment is ridiculous. Who are the powerful forces on the far left that are equivalent threats??? Don’t make me laugh. The far right is the threat at the present time not the far left.
Why is Iran enriching Uranium beyond 20% if not to make a bomb?
The UN is satisfied there is no evidence of military use. Why do you claim otherwise, on what evidence?
But of course on the other hand Israel is widely known to have nuclear weapons. Most independent analysts (e.g. the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and the Federation of American Scientists) estimate that Israel has 80 to 90 nuclear warheads, possibly more, and the capacity to rapidly build additional ones.
Israel is believed to have 3 nuclear delivery systems:
Aircraft (e.g. modified F-15s and F-16s)
Ballistic missiles (Jericho series)
Submarine-launched cruise missiles (from German-built Dolphin-class subs)
Israel’s nuclear program began in the 1950s, with strong early support from France. The Dimona nuclear facility in the Negev desert was key to weapons development.
In 1986, former nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu leaked photos and documents to The Sunday Times, showing the scale of Israel’s nuclear program. He was later kidnapped by Mossad, tried in secret, and imprisoned for 18 years.
It is a fair question for Sam Crowther to ask why is Iran enriching uranium beyond the 3-4% usually needed for commercial reactor fuel?
Research reactors, which Iran also has, following British assistance during the Baghdad Pact arrangement in the mid 1950s, require uranium enriched to a significantly higher degree.
(There is a campaign in the US among some concerned academics to stop the use of high enriched uranium, HEU, in research reactors in US research reactors)
Even if Iran had military aspirations with its atomic research programme, they would need to design a HEU-based warhead without the ability to test the design, as the established nuclear weapons states have done. They now calibrate designs using hydrodynamic lasers, such as EPURE hydrodynamic centre near Dijon in France, which is used to validate British Trident warheads as well as those for the Force de Frappe. Iran has no such facility, as far as is currently known.
The Israeli strikes on Iran are better understood as strategic punishment for Iran’s support of Hamas and Hezbollah, rather than as a serious attempt to derail a nuclear weapons program that doesn’t currently exist.
Thank you.
Why don’t you say it? Only people who look like you and / or worship a certain way should have nuclear weapons.
On the nose there Colonel, right on the nose…………….
It is perfectly clear that none of these sanctions will be implemented – yes we are all complicit – but ‘the West’ is perfectly prepared for its murderous hypocrisy to be enacted in full view of the rest of the world.
Iran regime is murderous against its own people – but it was complying with the international agreement re its nuclear enrichment – until Trump tore it up.
All we and Israel is teaching them is unless they get a nuclear weapon they will continue being ravaged.
On Wednesday we were supposed to be praising our government for its nuclear stance, both power and weapons.
Today, Starmer is speaking for ‘we the UK’ again and saying that Israel had the right to do what it did to Iran.
Surely he can see the hypocrisy.
Syria could be next. Israel would much rather it divided rather than see Mohamed al-Sharaa succeed.
I don’t know if any of you are following Crispin Flintoff on the March to Gaza.
Hundreds of them have had their passports taken away from them at a check-point in Egypt. Even Nelson Mandela’s grandson, who was leading a delegation from South Africa.
Egypt must be frightened of Netanyahu.
https://www.declassifieduk.org/luke-akehurst-arch-israel-lobbyist-picked-for-labour-safe-seat/
This is my MP, who works for Israel and has done for decades. He has helped Elbit Systems. In fact, most of the questions he asks in parliament are about arms and armaments.
We’ve really got to stop using the phrase “international rules-based order” when talking about Israel’s government and its actions.
Israel has never even *signed* Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions regarding “the protection of civilian victims of international war, including “armed conflicts in which peoples are fighting against colonial domination, alien occupation or racist regimes”.” The USA has signed it but, tellingly, never ratified it.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protocol_I_to_the_Geneva_Conventions
Israel has never signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty on nuclear weapons (along with India and Pakistan).
“Israel is estimated to have 90 nuclear warheads, with fissile material stockpiles for about 200 weapons.
“Israel does not admit nor deny having nuclear weapons [but obviously does not submit to any inspection], and states that it will not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons in the Middle East. Nevertheless, Israel is universally believed to possess nuclear arms stored in a partially disassembled state, although it is unclear exactly how many.”
https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/nuclear-weapons-who-has-what-glance
So Israel has not bound itself to any rules that constrain its actions, I think we can’t even call it a “rogue state” – a rogue at least acknowledges they are breaking the rules.
I’m not sure how to describe the state of Israel: inhumane; beyond decency; cruel; devoid of sense or sensibility; but pretending it’s breaking “international rules” to which it does not subscribe is meaningless.
It’s my opinion that Israel should be ejected from the United Nations precisely because it does not conform, which then opens the way for wavering nations to join in condemnation and those sanctions you suggest. But if I were a statesman I’d be a leader of the world (and, cynically, rolling in the donors’ money).
Has anyone else seen this? From Left Foot Forward about a zionist crypto powerhouse.
http://eepurl.com/jgXi4-/
Since 1992, Netanyahu has been claiming Iran would get a nuclear bomb “any day now” ( as this 2015 article lays out.)
https://theintercept.com/2015/03/02/brief-history-netanyahu-crying-wolf-iranian-nuclear-bomb