Time for hesitation is over
Sir Keir Starmer has not covered himself in glory with his response to the conflict between Israel and Iran. The first instinct of the Prime Minister and his colleagues, confronted with Jerusalem’s attempts to bar Tehran’s progress towards a nuclear weapon, was to call for “de-escalation” and an effective return to the status quo.
If the Prime Minister wishes to preach the virtues of de-escalation, he should surely be doing so to the leaders of Iran, who have responded to Israel’s targeted strikes of military assets with a seemingly indiscriminate bombardment of civilian areas, and whose reckless pursuit of weapons of mass destruction has utterly destabilised the Middle East.
Sir Keir’s track record on foreign policy is poor. In his short time in office he has displayed a lamentable tendency to hesitation and an unwillingness to express straightforward backing of Britain’s interests or those of its allies, which has left our country at significant disadvantage. But even he is surely unable to hold in his mind a belief that Iran would not commit atrocities if ever given the chance, or that it is not in our interest and to some degree our power to diminish its ability to do so.
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