The world stands at a perilous crossroads. The Islamic Republic of Iran, the globe’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism, is on the brink of acquiring nuclear weapons.
This is not a distant threat; it is a clear and immediate danger, particularly to the national homeland of the Jewish people, the State of Israel. Faced with escalating aggression and years of openly declared genocidal intent from Tehran, Israel has begun to act decisively to ensure that the regime will not have the means to carry out its deadly and destructive ambitions.
For too long, Iran has operated with near impunity as the engine of global terror. It has built and sustained a vast web of proxy militias and terrorist organisations, including Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and Shiite militias in Iraq and Syria. With funding, weapons, and strategic direction from Tehran, these groups have sown chaos across the Middle East and beyond, including into Europe.
Their targets have included civilians, embassies, oil infrastructure, commercial shipping, and international peacekeeping forces.
The regime’s violence is not random. It is part of a coherent, ideologically driven campaign to reshape the region, and ultimately the world, through intimidation, instability, and the export of their radical revolutionist ideology which openly calls for the downfall of the West.
The Islamic Republic’s leaders have declared, time and again, their desire to wipe Israel off the map. They do not hide their intentions; they amplify them, chanting “Death to Israel”, “Death to America” and “Death to Britain” in official gatherings, school curricula, and state-run media.
Now, imagine that such a regime, with its genocidal rhetoric and extremist ideology were to possess nuclear weapons.
This is not simply an Israeli concern. It is a global one.
Israel is taking action out of responsibility
A nuclear-armed Iran would spark a regional arms race, embolden terrorist organisations with a powerful state sponsor behind them and a nuclear umbrella above them, and radically destabilise international security.
Israel, more than any other country, understands the cost of inaction in the face of existential threats. It is a nation born from the ashes of genocide, with a solemn obligation to ensure that such horror is never repeated.
When Iran races toward the bomb while calling for Israel’s destruction, the danger is not theoretical. It is a potential second Holocaust.
This is why Israel is taking action. Not out of recklessness, but out of responsibility. Not to escalate conflict, but to prevent catastrophe and massive bloodshed and destruction.
Israel’s response to Iranian aggression is rooted in the most fundamental principle of all sovereign states: the right, and the duty, to self-defence.
Some in the international community may urge restraint or neutrality, but this is not a time for moral equivalence or diplomatic hesitation. This is a time for clarity. When a regime declares its intention to commit genocide, the world must believe it and act accordingly.
Those who remain silent in the face of Iran’s threats are not neutral; they are complicit.
Those who condemn Israel for defending itself while ignoring Iran’s decades of provocation have abandoned any sense of moral coherence, and those who call for restraint without addressing the root cause, Tehran’s ideology of hate and its relentless march toward nuclear capability, are merely delaying the inevitable, not preventing it.
To those who value freedom, democracy, and the sanctity of human life, the choice should be clear. Stand with Israel because it is on the front lines of a global battle between civilisation and barbarism, between the rule of law and the rule of terror.
Future of the entire international community at stake
It is not only Israel’s future at stake. A nuclear Iran threatens Arab neighbours, western interests in the region, European cities within missile range, and the global economy.
The battle being fought now is not confined to the Middle East. Its outcome will shape the future security of the entire international community.
Israel does not seek war. But it will not, and must not, wait for another 7 October, or something far worse, to justify its defence. It acts because it must, because history demands it, and because the consequences of inaction are too grave to ignore.
Let us be clear, stopping Iran’s nuclear ambitions is not a gift to Israel. It is a service to humanity. Every nation that values peace, justice, and the safety of future generations has a stake in this effort.
We call on responsible governments, human rights defenders, and ordinary citizens everywhere to support Israel’s right to defend itself against a regime that openly seeks its annihilation and has the capability to launch nuclear-armed missiles into European capitals.
Condemning terrorism, halting nuclear proliferation, and defending innocent lives must not be controversial positions, they must be moral imperatives.
In the face of evil, neutrality is not virtue. It is betrayal. This is not the time for silence. This is the time to stand with Israel, as it fights for us all.
Sacha Roytman Dratwa is CEO of the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), a global coalition of 900 partner organisations committed to fighting the world’s oldest hatred.
