Iran’s drone and missile attack on Israel on Saturday would not have happened had the west shown more resolve against Russia over the past two years. Our indecisiveness in eastern Europe signalled to our enemies that we are weak and divided — so is it any surprise that they are now trying to exploit this to their advantage?

Some would like to believe that the struggles of Ukraine and Israel are unrelated, but those people are wrong. The fact is that we are in the midst of a new Cold War that is splitting the world into two broad camps, and, as both the Middle East and eastern Europe are strategic battlegrounds in this global conflict, their fates are inexorably intertwined.