The latest eruption between Israel and Iran, carefully managed by British diplomats who now scurry for de-escalation, reveals more than just the usual cycle of violence. It exposes a diplomatic paradox: a conflict that should weaken Tehran may instead strengthen its negotiating hand. Let us not delude ourselves.
When Whitehall mandarins press for calm, they do so not out of altruism but because they sense a shift in the balance. Iran, for all its bluster, has long played a weak hand with remarkable skill. Now, with the region on a knife‘s edge, the mullahs can point to the chaos and claim they alone can restore order—or worsen it.
This is the oldest trick in the despotic playbook: make yourself indispensable by being a perpetual nuisance. The British push for de-escalation is wise, but it also hands Tehran a veto over stability. We are witnessing the decadence of our diplomatic age, where we negotiate with those who fire rockets and pretend they are statesmen.
The Fall of Rome was preceded by such appeasement. Will we learn, or will we continue to fund our own irrelevance?
