Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that “darkness is descending” as Iran expands its sphere of influence in the Middle East. “The force behind so much that is bad is this radical tyranny in Tehran,” the Israeli prime minister told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) conference in Washington on Tuesday. “If I have a message for you today, it’s a very simple one: we must stop Iran, we will stop Iran.”

Plagued by a corruption scandal at home, Netanyahu is clearly relishing the role of international statesman during a five-day US trip, putting on a united front with Donald Trump on Iran and the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Netanyahu told Aipac he had warned against the Iran nuclear deal brokered by the Barack Obama administration and claimed vindication. Pointing to a map of the Middle East showing Iran’s alleged dominance, he said: “Darkness is descending on our region. Iran is building an aggressive empire: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, more to come.”(theguardian)…[+]