Vigil continues with Israeli and US attacks on Iran

March 2026

For 118 weeks now, we have held a vigil in Salisbury with the theme peace in the Middle East. Around 30 attended yesterday (7 March) and the hope must be that one day it would end. Any such hopes were dashed last week when Israel led an attack on Tehran and other Iranian cities followed by the Americans. They claim that all Iranian air defences are destroyed together with their air force and navy. The attacks continue and Israel has now restarted its attacks on Lebanon.

The objectives of the latest campaign are unclear. One aspect is to destroy Iran’s nuclear ambitions which President Trump has already claimed were destroyed. The other is to enable regime change and initially that appears to have happened because the late supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei and his top aids, were tracked to a location enabling them to be assassinated. There was a hope that the people of Iran would rise up and evict the regime.

Thus the violence has continued and taken on a new life. There have been many implications well aired in the press: retaliation from Iran and its dramatic effects on the Gulf states, the closure of the Straights of Hormuz with its effects on oil and gas prices and the closure of the important air hub at Dubai. International stock markets have fallen and energy prices have risen dramatically.

It has also had ramifications for UK politics basically between those who think we should support Israel and the US and those who do not think yet more bombing and violence is a way to conduct foreign affairs. Arguments have surfaced about Britain’s role in offering support via its bases in Fairford Gloucestershire, Cyprus and the Indian Ocean. Initially denied, within days they were made available to the Americans.

The most damaging feature of this latest violence is the erosion of international law. Attacks on foreign states has rapidly become normal behaviour. As ever, it is not the leaders and politicians who suffer, but those at the receiving end of missile, drone and bombing attacks.

“The escalating crisis in the Middle East poses a grave threat to multilateralism and to the integrity of the international legal order. Unlawful acts by parties to the conflict, particularly those committed by influential states, not only endanger civilians across multiple countries, but also accelerate the erosion of the global norms that are essential for the protection of human rights and global peace and security.” Agnès Callamard, Secretary General, Amnesty International. (March 3rd)

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Previous posts:

• Yet more violence in the Middle East
• Another execution in Florida
• Is sport good for humanity?
• Executions continue at pace in Florida
• Nigeria and Shell Oil: 30 years on

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