The National Jewish Assembly (NJA), in partnership with the Henry Jackson Society and the Europe Israel Press Association, today held an emergency briefing in London to address the growing threat posed by Iran’s regional terror networks and the implications of the ongoing Israel-Iran war.
The event featured expert analysis from Beni Sabti, Iran expert at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv, and Barak Seener, Associate Research Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society and Founder of Strategic Intelligentsia. The speakers provided a timely and sobering assessment of the current conflict, Iran’s long-term ambitions, and the broader security challenges facing the West.
Sabti outlined how Iran views conflict as a strategic tool. Far from seeking stability, the regime deliberately escalates violence in order to drain Israel’s resources and morale. It has no regard for its own population or economy, willingly sacrificing both in pursuit of its ideological objectives. Sabti explained that Iran is committed to prolonging the conflict, not to win militarily, but to impose a war of attrition on Israel and distract international attention from its nuclear programme.
Seener examined the infrastructure behind Iran’s global network of proxy militias and ideological institutions. He highlighted how Iran’s cultivation of radicalised armed groups throughout the region allows it to export its revolutionary agenda while avoiding direct confrontation. Seneer also elaborated on the threat posed by Iranian “sleeper cells” located in other countries, including in the West, which may be activated by the Iranian regime in order to commit terror attacks abroad. He warned that the collapse of authoritarian regimes often leads to unintended and more dangerous outcomes, pointing to the Bolshevik takeover after the fall of the Russian Tsar and the rise of the Islamic Republic after the Shah’s downfall.
NJA Managing Director Steve Winston described the briefing as a necessary counterweight to the naïve and inconsistent response of Western governments. “Israel is once again left to defend the free world while Britain’s leaders wring their hands and plead for de-escalation from both sides. Iran is the chief sponsor of global terrorism. It threatens the West with impunity and is marching towards nuclear capability. The UK must stand with Israel unequivocally – not appease those who seek our collective destruction.”
