July 26 – Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech to the US congress this week, urging the West to support his fight against Hamas, and more broadly the Islamic Republic of Iran’s armed groups.
The divisive speech, which drew protests outside the US Capitol, focused on Iran’s role in the regional war. During the speech Netanyahu called anti-Israel demonstrators “Iran’s useful idiots” alluding to the backlash against the war in Gaza which has claimed more than 34,000 lives.
Netanyahu also said that Iran’s regime was stoking pro-Palestine protests in the US, following an announcement from the US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines confirming evidence of interference by Iran agents.
Heightened anxiety about a military conflict with Iran was fueled by an uncharacteristically direct statement by Britain’s army chief.
Sir Roly Walker warned that Iran’s desire to obtain a nuclear weapon and its growing relationships with countries such as China, North Korea and Russia would converge and create a much larger global challenge.
General Walker added that there was an “urgent need” for the British army to rebuild its capability.
And relations between Iran and Sudan have warmed, following an exchange of ambassadors.
The countries were estranged in 2016 after Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran was attacked in an act of retribution for the execution of a prominent Saudi Shi’ite cleric.
The instalment of the ambassadors is seen by the states as a new phase in bilateral relations between them, involving stronger cooperation and ties.
