Israel cannot dictate the future of the Middle East | David Hearst | MEE Opinion

David Hearst, editor-in-chief of Middle East Eye, says Israel’s blitz on Iran has collapsed into a strategic defeat. In 12 days, none of Israel’s war aims were achieved. Trump claimed Iran’s nuclear programme had been obliterated, but US intelligence quickly contradicted him. Iran’s core infrastructure survived, and key materials were moved before the strikes. Iran may have already built deeper facilities elsewhere. Israel also failed to destroy Iran’s missile arsenal. After Trump declared a ceasefire, Iran launched new waves of attacks, hitting Beersheba and strategic sites across Israel. The damage was greater than anything Hamas or Hezbollah had inflicted. Hearst says Iran did not need to win outright. It only needed to keep fighting. Its missile strikes pinned Israeli civilians in shelters, drained missile defences, and exposed Israel’s limits. The quick victory Netanyahu sought never came. Iran’s ability to stand firm has shifted the balance. He argues this was never about ending a nuclear weapons programme. It was a clash between two worldviews: one that insists Israel must dominate the region, and one that resists occupation. Hearst concludes that Netanyahu’s long project to destroy Iran may have gone too far. Israel has exposed its population to a new kind of war and gained little in return. The result is not dominance, but danger. Catch MEE LIVE, our new biweekly live news programme, where we take a look at the news shaping our world through breaking coverage, expert analysis and hard-hitting interviews. MEE LIVE: Tuesday & Thursday | 12pm ET | 5pm BST | Join the conversation at [email protected] Support stories that matter. Join this channel to get access to perks:    / @middleeasteye   Subscribe to our channel: http://ow.ly/AVlW30n1OWH Subscribe to MEE Telegram channel to stay up to date: https://t.me/MiddleEastEye_TG Middle East Eye Website: https://middleeasteye.net Follow us on TikTok:   / middleeasteye   Follow us on Instagram:   / middleeasteye   Like us on Facebook:   / middleeasteye   Follow us on Twitter:   / middleeasteye