Religion as a Soft Power Tool: Iran’s Export of Twelver Shia Islam to Syria

Tom Keatinge, a financial crime expert at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank, told POLITICO that a German government official said to him in June 2022: “You do not want to start taking assets off people just because you don’t like them.” Keatinge said he agrees with that sentiment. “We need to follow the rule of law, that’s for sure.”

Sidharth Kaushal, sea power research fellow the Royal United Services Institute, said the Royal Navy’s surface fleet’s current state was “effectively one of temporary retrenchment, which may start to be alleviated by the delivery of the Type 26s”. He added: “The fleet is at a historic low in terms of surface escort ships and the Type 26 will be particularly critical to what the Royal Navy does in future. They are already looking at a reduced number, down to eight from the original 12 the Navy wanted, so I imagine giving one to an ally would be a difficult sell.”

HA Hellyer, a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute thinktank, also said he saw a complicated picture. “When Iran did attack, it was massively choreographed,” he said, referring to the fact the strike had not only been flagged up in advance but that the US and neighbours had been warned. “If it had not been so well choreographed, if it had been a complete surprise, I think fewer missiles would have been taken out and others would have got through. And I think while it is definitely a cliche to say Israel is completely indebted and dependent on the US, it is also true that if the US and other allies had not stood alongside Israel we would have seen a different outcome. The fact that Israel had to rely on a coalition contains a message: that you can’t imagine it’s always going to be like that. I don’t think people have grasped that properly before. That without American support there is really no way for Israel to maintain its security paradigm in way that it has.”