“The cleverest ruse of the Devil,” wrote Baudelaire in 1864, “is to persuade you he does not exist.” More than 160 years later, great swathes of Leftists, Israelophobes and Western leaders appear to have fallen under this spell when it comes to the regime in Tehran.

Sir Keir Starmer delivered the usual message of pacifism on behalf of Britain. It matched that of Ursula von der Leyen and the other centrist fundamentalist European leaders, all of whom are equally addicted to the numbing opium of appeasement.

Instead of seeing a resolve for victory, we were subjected to repeated demands for “de-escalation” and “diplomacy”. Having so loudly decried the Iranian threat in recent months, even placing it in the highest category of the new foreign influence register, the Prime Minister seemed unable to connect the synapses.

By the time Israel was driven to attack, the international community had not imposed snapback sanctions on Iran. Britain even disgraced itself by refusing to help with Israel’s defence. The Ayatollah could be launching nuclear bombs at all the major cities of the West in a sulphurous haze, and David Lammy would still extol the virtues of jaw-jaw.

In central Tehran, there is a clock counting down to September 9, 2040, the date of Israel’s destruction as prophesied by the Ayatollah. The regime has enriched uranium to a level only required for military uses. When Khamenei gives speeches, the crowd chants: “Death to America! Death to England! Death to the hypocrites and the infidels! Death to Israel!” Until yesterday, Iran’s scientists could produce 15 nukes within days.

Khamenei’s pet theology lusts after the apocalypse. Triggered by the obliteration of Israel, this cataclysm will supposedly herald the arrival of the “Mahdi” to lead Shia forces to global victory. These are the convictions that drive actual Iranian foreign policy. De-escalation and diplomacy are laughable, yet this is what Israel has suffered since the Obama era. When Jerusalem was forced to act, you’d have thought the West would rally. But no. Israel was the bad guy.

We have seen this movie before. When Jerusalem destroyed Saddam Hussein’s nuclear programme in 1981, the world was appalled. “A clear violation of… the norms of international conduct,” the United Nations huffed. Two decades later, the White House quietly acknowledged that the Jews had done everybody a favour.

We may see a similar change of heart by 2045, but there will be much danger before then. Starmer and the Europeans don’t realise how outdated they sound in this new, perilous world. As Vasily Grossman put it in Life and Fate: “Only yesterday you were sure of yourself, strong and cheerful, a son of the time. But now another time has come – and you don’t even know it.”

Their era has passed. This is Israel’s century. While dogs of war bark globally and instability grips America, the countries that will thrive will be those with conviction in their values and the courage and resilience to defend them. “The world will never pity slaughtered Jews,” observed Menachem Begin. “The world may not necessarily like the fighting Jew, but the world will have to take account of him.”

With Russia and China sharpening their knives, we must not only take account of the fighting Jew but also follow his lead. Just look at Ukraine. First, however, we must accept what our grandparents learned the hard way. The Devil exists. It makes no sense to appease him.