Since the US and Israel launched their attacks on Iran, the echoes of the 2003 Iraq war have grown louder.

While the justifications for the war have varied, the risks have only increased following Iran's retaliatory strikes.

John Negroponte, who served as Washington’s first ambassador to Iraq, following the US-led invasion, argues that the current war is justified because of Iran's use of "proxies to destabilise the region".

Meanwhile, Donald Trump has criticised European leaders and NATO for refusing to participate in the war, to help secure the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz.

Tobias Ellwood, a former British Under-Secretary of State for the Middle East, says the "ghosts of previous interventions" such as Iraq and Afghanistan loom large over UK politics, insisting US allies in Europe should not be dragged into the war against Iran as long as US objectives remain unclear.