Strategic Cross-Purposes

The US, Israel, Europe and other allies need to get over themselves

(Ukrainian president Zelenskyy arriving in Syria on April 5th, 2026.)

The current US and Israeli military operation aims to ensure Iran no longer poses a strategic threat. Europe, the UK and Canada are supporting Ukraine’s continuing self-defence against Russian aggression.

Yet Trump and Netanyahu see Russia as a friend. Europe, the UK and Canada failed to prevent Iran from becoming a main enabler of Russia’s aggression.

As a result, strikes against both Iran and Ukraine are happening against a backdrop of grand incoherence, as both sets of allies mostly ignore their enemy’s main enabler.

This is a recipe for continuing failure. Neither Iran nor Russia will abandon its aggressive posture unless both face uniformly strong pressure.

For now, only Ukraine has fully grasped this linkage. The same drones hitting Kharkiv and Odesa are being launched against Dubai and Doha. By offering to help Gulf states counter such threats, Ukraine is again showing leadership.

Peace in Europe and the Persian Gulf requires that both Iran and Russia lose their capacity to build, deploy and launch drones, missiles and rockets.