For years, the Islamic Republic of Iran was treated as though it were a regional problem: dangerous, repressive, disruptive, but somehow containable. That illusion no longer survives contact with reality.

Iran is not merely a troublesome power in the Middle East. It is the organizing force behind a global network of terror, coercion, and destabilization. Through the IRGC and its proxies – Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Houthis – the regime has exported violence far beyond its borders. It has done so not sporadically, but systematically. Chaos is not an unintended consequence of Iranian policy. It is one of its methods.

The evidence is now overwhelming. In 2025, the UK Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee described Iran as posing a “wide-ranging, persistent and sophisticated threat” to British national security. That was not diplomatic hyperbole. It reflected a threat picture that included assassination plots, espionage, cyber operations, intimidation, and the targeting of individuals and communities on British soil. Britain, the United States, France and other allies later issued a joint condemnation of attempts by Iranian intelligence services to kill, kidnap and harass people in Europe and North America. This is not the language reserved for a distant nuisance. It is the language of a hostile state actor.

Iran’s proxies are central to this strategy. Hezbollah has long functioned as Tehran’s most capable external arm. Hamas and PIJ have served as instruments of armed terror against Israel while reinforcing Iran’s broader regional posture. The Houthis, meanwhile,........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)