US attack on Iran is for Democracy

By Kemi Badenoch

Leader of the British Conservative Party

Too many politicians treat the world like a student union. Abstract, simplistic and completely disconnected from reality. The world is not a debating club. It is a dangerous place where power matters, where democracy is fragile and where enemies don’t play by the rules.

That’s why we need to be clear: supporting Israel is not just right — it is necessary for our own national security. Israelis are at the front line in the fight for the West and for our shared values.

First, Iran is a direct threat to the UK and has been for years. Our security services have stopped multiple Iranian terrorist plots and assassination attempts on UK soil. Its ballistic missiles can reach Europe. We should support any ally that seeks to damage Iran’s nuclear programme and eliminate the threat posed by the terror-exporting Revolutionary Guards.

Anti-British sentiment is almost as central to the ayatollahs’ deranged ideology as their obsessive hatred of Israel and the United States. They use the term “Little Satan” interchangeably to refer to both the UK and Israel.

Iran uses influence through mosques, schools and fake charities to radicalise and corrupt our own population: taking advantage of our democracy to advance its theocracy.

Second, Iran and Israel are not moral equivalents. Israel is a vibrant democracy that protects women and minorities and encourages them to vote, speak and dissent. In Iran women are brutalised by a theocratic dictatorship. Their ability to travel and work is restricted. They are beaten for showing their hair. Tortured for asking questions. Executed for demanding freedom.

Anyone who can’t see the difference between a liberal democracy and a terrorist regime needs to spend less time on social media and more time understanding reality.

When Iran launched its latest barrage of missiles, it didn’t target military installations. It targeted city centres. High rise housing. Hospitals. Civilians. This is a war crime, plain and simple. No excuses. No spin. And still, we have western politicians giving copy-and-paste statements as if this were a playground spat between equal players in a “cycle of violence”.

Israel’s response, in contrast, is surgical. It decapitated Iran’s offensive capabilities with extraordinary precision and minimal civilian casualties. Images of holes made by guided bombs in the sides of flats occupied by specific regime operatives are testament to Israel’s values. When Iran attacks, millions of Israelis hide in bomb shelters. When Israel attacks, Iranian dissidents record the impact against regime targets and cheer.

Military strategists will be studying this campaign for decades as a model for how to defend your people without losing your moral compass and in compliance with international law.

Israel has a right to defend itself. Iran has been openly committed to the destruction of Israel for decades. Through its proxy, Hamas, the regime orchestrated the murder of 1,200 people on October 7 and has said it would do it again. Any democracy facing such an existential threat from a genocidal regime would and must act to defend itself.

Most Arab nations understand this; some say it openly. Many ordinary Iranians bitterly oppose their regime which for 46 years has been robbing them of their future. They know that Israel is not the problem. They condemn violence, yes, but they have no time for the delusions of the western left. They’ve had enough of people in Islington pretending to speak for Gaza while doing nothing for peace.

But of course, the usual crowd in Britain and beyond rushed to condemn Israel. They ignore the facts. Because it’s not really about Israel — it’s about their own moral posturing.

While Israel takes on the arrayed enemies of the West, fighting terrorism on multiple fronts, and facing Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran at once, their so-called allies condemn them.

Nigel Farage warned that “Israel is running out of friends”, while sharing discredited Hamas death toll figures to show “why the international community struggles”. The SNP and Liberal Democrats offered vague, hand-wringing commentary with zero understanding of the world we live in. But we are up against ideologues armed with drones, not dinner party dilemmas.

Most egregious of all is the weak and morally deficient Labour government, continually singling out Israel for punishment for daring to exercise its right to self-defence.

While our ally faces an existential threat and takes on our enemies, Keir Starmer and David Lammy vacillate and equivocate, and Lord Hermer imposes his own interpretation of international law.

This moral cowardice hurts us as a nation. It damages trade ties, harms vital intelligence co-operation with Israel which keeps us safe, drives a wedge between us and our allies and empowers an Iranian regime that views Britain as its enemy. This is not what responsible governments do.

Due to this Labour government’s hostility towards Israel, bilateral relations have deteriorated to such an extent that Britain was not even informed about the attack on Iran. We are no longer trusted and are viewed as unreliable. Lammy’s confused antics diminish us on the global stage.

A strong nation is clear about its interests and the threats it faces. Labour does not have the moral clarity to see this. Their vision is blurred by Starmer’s inability to make up his mind on anything, and his political need to pander to foolish views. It is this same weakness that drives them to undermine and surrender core British interests in the Chagos Islands.

Support for Israel is not about sentiment. It’s about security, sovereignty and survival. We stand with Israel because it shares our values. Because it defends itself against terrorists who have their sights on us, too. Because if we don’t stand with democracies under attack, we embolden those who hate everything we stand for. And what we see now is a weak UK emboldening its enemies.

The attack on Israel is part of a broader assault on Western values. An assault on free, democratic countries from an axis of authoritarian states. Their fight is our fight.