'Iran Can Be Pushed Back Against Hard'

Former British Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair talks exclusively to Newsweek about resolution in the Middle East and the role of the U.S. in achieving it

- NANCY COOPER, CHRISTOPHER ROBERTS and BARNEY HENDERSON

FORMER U.K. PRIME MINISTER SIR TONY Blair described Iran as the "origin of the instability in the Middle East" in a wide-ranging interview with Newsweek.

Blair, whose decision to use British armed forces in the 2003 invasion of Iraq-as well as his perceived closeness to President George W. Bushattracted criticism at home and abroad, said that the key to stability in the region was to ensure religious tolerance prevailed over Islamism.

He blamed Iran for attempting to export its revolution through proxies such as Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, both of which have been heavily targeted by Israel since the attacks of October 7, 2023, the bloodiest massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust.

Blair, who is now Roman Catholic, became leader of the British Labour Party in 1994 and was prime by minister from 1997 to 2007. As well as encompassing the Iraq War, over which he was accused of misleading the U.K. Parliament, his time in office included passing the Good Friday Agreement, a landmark in the Northern Ireland peace process, and humanitarian interventions in Sierra Leone and Kosovo.

After leaving office, he was special envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East-an organization to mediate the Israeli-Palestinian peace process comprising the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Russia-until 2015. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Bush in 2009.

In 2016, he founded the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, a nonprofit organization to fight what he described as the growth of authoritarian populism across the world. His latest book, On Leadership: Lessons for the 21st Century, is a manual for today's leaders based on his experiences in politics.

Newsweek Global Editor in Chief Nancy Cooper, VP of Digital Publishing Christopher Roberts and Content Director Barney Henderson spoke with him in London. This interview has been edited for space and clarity.