Israel's President calls out Starmer for ‘sitting on fence' and says Europe is next in line for Mullahs' missiles

ISRAEL's president last night accused Britain of 'sitting on the fence' as his nation fights for its life against Iran.
Embattled Isaac Herzog said it was Sir Keir Starmer's government's moral duty to support his strife-torn country's war on terror.
5
5
And he told The Sun that Iran's missiles of mass destruction could one day be trained on the UK.
In an exclusive interview at the presidential palace in Jerusalem, he said: 'There are things Britain cannot turn a blind eye to. It's obvious.
'And I think the British leadership should not only look at demonstrations or comments. We have to show them clear moral clarity.
'We are fighting the war that will protect Britain in the foreseeable future.'
Mr Herzog, a moderate political figure on the left of Israeli politics, added: 'You ask yourself, why would Iran have missiles reaching London?
"Why? If London is not an enemy, then why? That is the question that needs to be asked.'
He spoke out as Donald Trump, who has moved battleships and aircraft towards the Middle East warzone, last night appeared to give Iran a fortnight to agree to axe its nuclear programme.
The Israel-backing US President, who yesterday signed off on a plan believed to involve ordering B-2 stealth bombers to wipe out Iran's surviving nuclear plant, said: 'I will make my decision whether or not to 'go' within the next two weeks.'
Mr Trump, who has demanded Iran's immediate 'unconditional surrender' said he based his decision on the fact there was a 'substantial chance of negotiations' with Iran in the near future.
President Herzog, 64, hit out as Keir Starmer's Labour government continued to fight shy of commitments to back ally Israel's war with the rogue terror state.
RAF Typhoon jets have been moved to a UK base in Cyprus but the PM and his Foreign Secretary David Lammy have sought to focus squarely on pleas for de-escalation.
Sir Keir yesterday again urged all parties to back off as Britain prepared to enter crisis talks in Geneva with Iran.
He said: 'The continuation of the current situation is in no-one's interest. We want to see cool heads and a return to diplomacy because that is the best route forward.'
The UK has sanctioned two far-Right Israeli ministers over 'incitements of violence against Palestinian communities' in the occupied West Bank.
Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich will be banned from entering the UK and will have any assets in the UK frozen.
Mr Herzog spoke of his respect for British values as he poured out his frustration yesterday.
The nation's figurehead, a political opponent of strongman PM Benjamin Netanyahu, let rip during a 20-minute defence of Israel's 'existential' war with Iran.
And he spoke of his enduring pride in his father, late Israeli president Chaim Herzog, who was an officer in the British Army and battled the Nazis in World War II.
He said: 'My father, you know, he was really a war hero in World War Two.
5
5
'He was very proud of the fact that he served in the British Army. He saw the worst of atrocities when he fought the Nazis and liberated the concentration camps. And we always believed, and I always believed, in the uniqueness of the British parliamentary system.'
Mr Herzog went on to warn ­Britain that Iran must be stopped, and that Israel was at a now or never moment when there had never been a better time to end the terror from Iran and its proxies such as Hezbollah and the Houthis.
He told The Sun: 'Ask yourself, why would a small tribe of 50,000 Yemenite Houthis receive ballistic missiles and cruise missiles? Ballistic missiles is something only empires have. It's all planned and arranged by Iran. It's a war machine planned against us.
'But, truly, the next ones in line are the Europeans and the 'infidels' as they call them.
'So let's not delude ourselves and let's all join together in identifying the national security risks of all these nations who have to stand up to Iran and say, 'No more'.
'Enough with your terror cells, enough with your jihadist cells, enough with your proxies and enough with your nuclear programme.
'We are defending Europe'
'It's now or never. Iran went on procrastinating for decades and decades and there were all sorts of windows of opportunity.
'Each time they told us, 'OK, let's give it a chance . . . let's have an agreement. Let them do X or Y'.
'But underneath, they had covert operations of lying. Their covert operation threatens Middle East stability and world stability. That's what people don't get.
'They love to criticise Israel automatically. But we are defending the West. We are defending Europe.'
Mr Herzog saluted German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for his recent show of support as he urged Sir Keir Starmer to follow suit. And he called on the people of Iran to rise up against terror stoking Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini in his nation's strongest call yet for regime change.
He told The Sun: 'The chancellor of Germany said it beautifully.
'He said Israel is doing the dirty work for us. It's true.
'We are here at the frontier of a clash of civilisational values vis-à-vis jihadists. That's what we are dealing with.
The world, for 80 years, has made clear that nuclear capabilities are the most dangerous thing if they are linked with an extreme, cruel, jihadist ideology.
Isaac Herzog
'I trust President Trump. I think he sees it lucidly. I don't want to go into bombastic declarations but I think that he sees things correctly and my message to the people of Iran is very clear, 'We do not seek war but this war is your opportunity to uprise and bring change in your country. Totally uprise and change direction'.
'It's not one of our main plans or aims, but it is a major, major side-effect of our campaign. Our prime minister and our executive branch, they're taking care of it.'
Referring to Ali Khameini, he said: 'It is clear that the leader of this war machine of terror, of atrocities, he himself is in charge of everything.
'He's taking billions of dollars off his own people from their food to spend on this terrible machine of cruelty. The world has to stand up to him once and for all.'
Mr Herzog said he trusted Donald Trump to end Iran's reign of terror across the Middle East but said Israel's military had the power and the guile to win the war solo.
Asked if his military could go it alone, he told The Sun: 'Israel can. It has many capabilities. We haven't shown everything yet.
'And we are very cautious in commenting about President Trump's considerations or decision-making process. We respect him immensely and we leave it up to him to take the historic decision.
'What we're doing is strictly in line with national security interests of all these major countries — all the G7 countries.
'We are showing our ingenuity and capabilities. We have a lot in stock. I don't want to brag about it.
'I met pilots yesterday who flew 2,300 kilometres and destroyed armaments that were aimed at us.
'And now they hit the Arak nuclear plantation and other places. That's a huge achievement.
'The world, for 80 years, has made clear that nuclear capabilities are the most dangerous thing if they are linked with an extreme, cruel, jihadist ideology.'
The president said he hoped for an historic change, possibly within the next seven days, as Israel's vast military operation continued.
He said: 'I sincerely hope that there will be a different balance that will block Iran, make clear that they cannot go on with that nasty, terrible game of theirs all over the world and in the region.
'They cannot threaten Israel's existence and move to the bomb — it's clear — and that is our aim.'

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

The Independent

7 minutes ago

• The Independent

Has Iran actually tried to kill Trump? Here's what we know

Days after it was reported that Donald Trump rejected Israel's plot to assassinate Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the president publicly announced that the United States knows his location and is holding off killing him 'for now.' Israeli officials, meanwhile, have openly demanded his death. This week, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Khamenei 'can no longer be allowed to exist.' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, turning to Fox News over the weekend to make the case for the United States to join a war with Iran, said Khamenei sees the president as 'public enemy number one.' Israel has sought to justify intervention using allegations of Trump's assassination threats as leverage, while the United States has faced years of blowback in the wake of Middle East wars and the 2020 killing of a top Iranian general. During his first administration in 2020, Trump ordered a drone strike near Baghdad International Airport that killed Qassem Soleimani, commander of the elite Quds Force with Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, after he had survived several assassination attempts from western, Israeli and Arab states over the past two decades. The strike, which was planned over several months, ignited fierce blowback across the region, denounced by Iran's foreign minister at the time as an act of international terrorism. By 2024, U.S. intelligence officials had collected evidence they believe shows Tehran was seeking ways to kill then-candidate Trump, according to Politico. In September, Trump claimed there were 'big threats on my life by Iran.' Neither of the two assassination attempts against then-candidate Trump in the summer of 2024 have been linked to Iran. One month earlier, a Pakistani national with alleged ties to Iran was accused of seeking to carry out a murder-for-hire plot targeting U.S. government officials, according to federal prosecutors. Asif Raza Merchant was accused of joining a complex plot to carry out assassinations last year, including trying to hire hit men who were undercover officers, according to an indictment. In November, a fugitive Iranian government operative was accused of hiring a pair of New Yorkers he met in prison to carry out an assassination plot against a critic of the regime. He allegedly admitted to FBI agents that he'd also been tasked with finding a hit squad to kill then-President-elect Trump. Farhad Shakeri claimed he was asked by regime officials to 'put aside his other efforts... and focus on surveilling, and, ultimately, assassinating' Trump, according to a criminal complaint in Manhattan federal court. In February, Trump, who campaigned against U.S. involvement in foreign wars, said Iran would be 'obliterated' if he was assassinated by state actors. 'That would be a terrible thing for them to do,' he told reporters. 'Not because of me. If they did that, they would be obliterated. That would be the end. I've left instructions: if they do it, they get obliterated. There won't be anything left.' Iran has denied ever targeting the president. 'A new scenario is fabricated,' Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X following accusations against Shakeri. 'The American people have made their decision. And Iran respects their right to elect the president of their choice. The path forward is also a choice. It begins with respect,' Araghchi wrote. Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the allegations were part of a 'repulsive' plot by Israel to 'complicate matters between America and Iran.' In January, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stressed that Iran 'never attempted' to kill Trump, 'and we never will.' 'This is another one of those schemes that Israel and other countries are designing to promote Iranophobia,' Pezeshkian told NBC News. 'Iran has never attempted to, nor does it plan to assassinate anyone. At least as far as I know.' Asked whether there have been any plots against the president under Iran, he insisted there have been 'none whatsoever.' On June 15, Netanyahu asked Fox News host Bret Baier whether 'these people who chant 'death to America'' and 'tried to assassinate President Trump twice' should 'have nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them to your cities.' Baier then pressed Netanyahu about his claim that Iran launched two assassination attempts. 'Through proxies, yes.' he said. 'Through, through their intel, yes, they want to kill him,' he added. 'He's enemy number one.' Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who has emerged as a prominent voice across right-wing media against the United States joining Israel's war, told Texas Senator Ted Cruz that the United States would be bombing Tehran if those assassination allegations were credible. 'We should attack Iran immediately if that's true,' he said. Cruz insisted that 'nobody disputes' Iran is trying to kill the president, calling it an 'objective fact' following his interview with Carlson. On Thursday, Trump said he plans to decide on whether to order U.S. warplanes to strike Iranian nuclear facilities within the next two weeks, depending on whether Tehran engages in talks over ending their nuclear weapons program. In a statement relayed through White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Trump said: 'Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.' The president's statement followed a week of escalating strikes between Israel and Iran. More than 600 Iranians and at least two dozen Iranians have been killed, according to officials.

BBC News

9 minutes ago

• BBC News

Norfolk council leader sorry over 'poor people' Facebook post

A council leader apologised "unreservedly" for posting a picture of a steak dinner on Facebook with the words: "Wonder what all the poor people are doing?"Norfolk County Council's Conservative leader Kay Mason Billig said it was a private joke that had been taken out of context and the comments were "not intended to be about anyone else".A copy of her post, which showed a tomahawk steak, red wine and a salad, was shared with the Eastern Daily council's Liberal Democrat group leader Brian Watkins said it made "a mockery of many in our county struggling to make ends meet" and called for her to resign. Mason Billig, who has led the council since 2023, said: "Of course I apologise unreservedly if I have caused any offence, it was never my intention to do so."She said the image – taken from her personal Facebook page – was being "twisted into something it isn't"."My husband and I have sometimes called ourselves 'the poor people'," she explained."It's a private joke as we live fairly modestly, so when we have a treat, we will sometimes post about it."It's not intended to be about anyone else and is no reflection on people who are less well off than ourselves."I am deeply disappointed that someone has decided to be this horrible when they must certainly know it's actually self deprecation." While the post was made on her personal page, University of Essex professor of government Paul Whiteley said politicians had to be careful using social media."To somebody who didn't know her, it would sound like she was being rude about people who are poor, even if that's not what she meant," he said."That's what it will sound like to the vast majority of people."Watkins, whose Liberal Democrats are the main opposition group on the council, said Mason Billig "should consider her resignation immediately"."A councillor is never off duty. These comments make a mockery of many in our county struggling to make ends meet."Labour group leader Steve Morphew said Mason Billig was "out of touch". Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

Telegraph

13 minutes ago

• Telegraph

Palestine Action must be labelled terrorist group, say Farage and Jenrick

Palestine Action should be proscribed as a terrorist organisation after its activists breached security at an air base to damage two RAF planes, Robert Jenrick and Nigel Farage have said. The pair joined other senior politicians in demanding that the group should be banned over its 'illegal' and 'extremist' actions after activists broke into RAF Brize Norton and sprayed red paint into the engines of two Airbus Voyager aircraft. Mr Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, told Sir Keir Starmer: 'You are the Prime Minister – do something. Ban Palestine Action. Investigate the security breach.' Mr Farage, the leader of Reform UK, said: 'Palestine Action must be proscribed as a terrorist organisation after the attack on RAF planes at Brize Norton.' Proscribing Palestine Action would make it illegal to be a member of the group, to invite support for it or to wear clothing or carry flags or placards backing it. Anyone caught doing so would face up to 14 years in prison. It would put the group on a par with membership of the Islamic State, Hamas or Al-Qaeda. Lord Walney, a former government adviser on political violence and disruption, said: 'The Government must now act to ban Palestine Action after this grotesque breach of military security. 'With Iran's nuclear programme on the brink and Britain facing rising threats from abroad, we shouldn't let these criminal activists act like the Ayatollah's apparatchiks by attacking the country from within. 'Employees at the workplaces they target have been systematically terrorised by Palestine Action for too long – this is the moment for ministers to proscribe the group as terrorists or enact the new sanctions recommended in my review submitted to Downing Street and the Home Office.' Suella Braverman, a former home secretary, said: 'This is not a legitimate protest. These are the actions of militant extremists who are undermining our national security. Palestine Action should be proscribed and face the full force of the law.' Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader, is understood to support a ban and urged the Government and police to ensure that the activists responsible faced the 'full force of the law'. 'The security breach at Brize Norton is deeply is not lawful protest, it is politically motivated criminality,' she said. 'We must stop tolerating terrorist or extremist groups that seek to undermine our society. The full force of the law must come down on those responsible.' David Taylor, the Labour MP for Hemel Hempstead, also called for Palestine Action to be proscribed, saying its protest at Brize Norton amounted to 'sabotage'. He added: 'This group have engaged in illegal activity – smashing into defence sites, vandalising property and disrupting key infrastructure. These are not isolated incidents – they are part of a coordinated campaign of unlawful direct action. 'Such behaviour puts lives at risk, undermines public safety and is against British values. It is time for the Government to take a firmer stance. I believe Palestine Action should now be considered for proscription under the Terrorism Act. We cannot allow groups who glorify and incite violence to operate unchecked under the guise of activism.' Palestine Action has been involved in previous violent protests. In January last year, it vandalised an office of the logistics company Kuehne+Nagel in Milton Keynes, smashing windows and spraying the building with paint. Last March, it claimed responsibility for spray-painting a historic portrait of Arthur Balfour at Trinity College, Cambridge. Palestine Action said the action was taken because of the 1917 Balfour declaration, in which the UK backed a separate state for Jewish people. Last November, members broke a glass cabinet in the University of Manchester's Chemistry Building and stole two busts of Chaim Weizmann, the first president of Israel and a former lecturer at the university. In March this year, members of Palestine Action threw red paint on the Old Schools building at the University of Cambridge, calling on the university to divest from companies selling arms to the Israeli military.