Iran is replacing the Arab-Israeli conflict as the primary cause of instability in the Middle East, former defence secretary Liam Fox said today.
In a speech in Washington, he was due to say: “We should be careful not to see it as simply a regional security problem as its effects are spread widely and Iran’s toxicity is felt well beyond its geographic neighbourhood.”
He accused Tehran of exporting terrorism, destabilising the region through proxy militias and threatening global oil supplies.
“The current approach to Iran has not worked and has led to the current maximum pressure strategy by the current US administration,” Mr Fox was set to tell the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“The 12 points set out by Secretary of State Pompeo could form the basis of a ‘grand bargain’ but only if a way could be found to enable ordinary Iranians to prosper from any liberalisation of trade, rather than pumping money into the Khamenei regime.”
Britain has rejected backing the US “maximum pressure” policy and is seeking to keep alive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
