Iran doesn’t hate Israel

The decades since the Islamic revolution have weighed heavy on the people of Iran. Living in fear, under extreme levels of surveillance and oppression, ordinary citizens have seen their quality of life plummet and their horizons shrink, as their country became an international pariah. Those who dared to protest have been brutally repressed by regime goons with knives, axes and heavy weaponry. And while forced to suffer the deprivation of draconian sanctions, hardworking families could only look on as their despotic leaders splurged billions of dollars on military meddling overseas.

When the senior Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar boasted in December that the regime had given him £15.8 million of government money, Farsi social media lit up in rage. The average wage in Iran may be hovering around £1,500 a year, but Iranian cash now funds 80 per cent of the threats facing Israel, intelligence sources tell me.

Yet it is surely a powerful tribute to the rich and ancient Persian civilisation that despite all the anguish imposed by these deeply malevolent rulers – and despite the constant waves of anti-Western propaganda – the public remains the most tolerant in the region.