508. Is Starmer Sleepwalking into War with Iran?
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Is Keir Starmer sleepwalking into a war with Iran?
Thanks for listening to The Rest Is Politics. To support the podcast, listen without the adverts and get early access to episodes and live show tickets, go to therestispolitics.com. That's therestispolitics.com. That is chaos. It's chaos which has been triggered by the US and Israel's actions. Iran at the moment is whacking off missiles at a fairly sizable number of places in one of the most volatile regions of the world. If that was Russia doing that today, we would basically be saying that this is now a world war. You've got this extraordinary move from Starmer. What I fear he's done is he's managed to piss off both of them. I don't think we've won any credit from the US for doing that. It's not about winning credit.
I don't see that it's about winning credit. Because this is what the national interest is about here. Let's be blunt. The UK is not protecting its citizens by getting involved in this war. The UK is endangering its citizens by getting involved in this war. You're being both naive and unfair because it's so easy to sit on the sidelines and say, I wouldn't do that.
Welcome to the Restless Politics with me, Alistair Campbell.
What are the implications of US and Israeli actions in the Middle East?
And with me, Rory Stewart. I think it's fairly obvious what we talk about on the main podcast this week. Rory, what do you think? We're going to talk about Iran. Look, there are a lot of different dimensions. I'd love to know where you'd want to start. So one of them is how different international leaders are responding. So Britain, France, Germany, Canada. Second is what's happening on the ground in Iran. Third is what's happening in terms of Iranian response attacks on Dubai. And fourth immediately strikes me is the broader story of what Israel is doing simultaneously in Lebanon, Gaza, elsewhere. But what's caught your attention at the moment? Where do you want to start? I mean, I think you're right. Maybe the one I would add to that is what this all says about the state of America and the state of American politics and American leadership, especially now that Donald Trump has decided that even Keir Starmer has to get a whacking.
for not agreeing with every single word that he says and every single thing that he does. I'd like to start, Roy, do you remember when we interviewed Mike Pompeo, the former Secretary of State? And I told him during the interview that, I told you, because you weren't there at the event, that we'd had that question of the audience, which is the greatest threat to global stability, the United States or China? And he looked absolutely gobsmacked that the answer was the United States, okay? Now, if memory serves me right, this was pre-Greenland. Yep. And it was certainly pre all this that we're living through now. But I wonder what in a educated audience, the answer to that question in most parts of the world would be right now.
Because it seems to me that what has been unleashed, you made this point on the very first episode we did on Saturday about the stripes, that unless you have some sense of clarity about what you're trying to achieve and how you're trying to achieve it, then there is a danger in any of these situations that they go off in directions that you simply cannot predict, let alone control. And I worry that that's where we are right now. And I was actually talking to Alexander Stubb, who is our next guest on Leading next week.
How is the UK responding to the escalating conflict with Iran?
And I was talking to him about something this morning. And we're making the point that he's got this thing about, you know, the global south is where the power is going to come from in the future. We're still very much focused on the on the west but iran at the moment is whacking off missiles uh you know a fairly sizable number of places in one of the most volatile regions of the world if that was russia doing that today say to estonia moldova lithuania poland we would basically be saying that this is now a world war okay So, and if you just think, so right now, you have missiles in, you know, and neither you and I are ever going to say a kind word about the Iranian Islamic Republic regime.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Is Keir Starmer sleepwalking into a war with Iran?
0:00–1:09
2
What are the implications of US and Israeli actions in the Middle East?
1:09–3:09
3
How is the UK responding to the escalating conflict with Iran?
3:09–7:50
4
What are Trump's objectives in attacking Iran?
7:50–17:06
5
How is Iran retaliating to the US and Israeli actions?
17:06–20:17
6
What is the potential impact of this conflict on the UK and its citizens?
20:17–22:22
7
What does the future hold for Iran and its regional influence?
22:22–23:59
8
How can the UK navigate its foreign policy amidst this chaos?
23:59–58:21
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