Iran is willing to “expend every Arab life” in its efforts to end Western influence in the Middle East and destroy Israel, a former US national security adviser has said.

HR McMaster, who held the position between 2017 and 2018 during the Trump presidency, told Sky News that there is still a risk of escalation between Iran and Israel after the two nations carried out attacks on each other in April.

Iran said its attack on Saturday 13 April was a retaliation after two of its generals were killed in a strike Tehran blames on Israel.

Israel responded to the Iranian attack by carrying out a strike on Isfahan – home to both a military base and nuclear site in Iran.

Asked whether there could be further escalation between the two regional rivals, Mr McMaster said: “Iran is pursuing a strategy in which they hope we continue to pretend like we don’t understand what the return address is for all this violence.

“And in a horrible, cynical way, Iran is willing to expend every Arab life, if necessary, to accomplish its objectives of pushing the United States, the United Kingdom and and our allies out of the region as the first step in establishing hegemonic power in the region and destroying Israel.

“That’s really what they want to do. And I think the longer that we act as if we don’t know what the return address is, Iran is going to continue to escalate these horrible actions to create horrible human suffering not only on the part of the Israelis, but on the part of the Palestinians too.”

Asked whether the West could be drawn into leading a response to any future Iranian aggression in the region, Mr McMaster said: “Absolutely, I think it’s coming because Iran seems to be emboldened, even though they have all sorts of internal dissent happening now… They seem to be emboldened internationally… I think we to need tell the Iranians we’re going to begin to impose severe costs on you.

“And these don’t have to be military right away.

“I think there’s tonnes of room to enforce the sanctions that are already on the books, the sanctions that the Biden administration chose not to enforce.”

Mr McMaster also said that the reduction in capacity of the UK’s armed forces “broke my heart” as military sources and Cold War veterans have warned Britain is increasingly vulnerable to the threat of missiles and drones after decades of cost-saving cuts.

He added that it would be “difficult for the UK to sustain operations” for “ample duration to fight and win” in a future conflict.

In apparent reference to some NATO countries not meeting their defence spending targets, Mr McCaster continued: “I think we have to realise that we have been over-optimistic for too long about the geostrategic conditions and the need to demonstrate strength to prevent further conflict.”

His comments come after UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps called for the new NATO target for defence spending to increase from the current 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) to 2.5%.

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Mr Shapps warned the world could be engulfed by wars involving China, Russia, North Korea and Iran in the next five years.

Asked whether the recent $61bn military aid package for Ukraine will have an impact on the war there, Mr McMaster said: “It’s a game-changer… I hope it’s not too late…

“Ukraine is are fighting as best they can with what they’ve got. We’ve got to get them the ammunition now.”

He added that the “halting” and “inconsistent” manner in which the US has provided aid has denied Ukraine the ability to protect its people and stop the Russian offensive.

About 300 people have been arrested during police crackdowns on protests at US universities.

In the early hours of Wednesday, police were called into Columbia University in New York, and also broke up protests at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as demos over the Israel-Hamas war reached boiling point.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said about 300 people were arrested at Columbia and nearby City College.

Columbia’s Hamilton Hall was occupied by protesters and Mayor Adams said this particular group was “led by individuals who were not affiliated with the university”.

“There is a movement to radicalize young people,” he said. “And I’m not going to wait until it is done to acknowledge the existence of it.”

On the west coast, all classes at UCLA were cancelled on Wednesday due to “distress” caused by the overnight violence, according to a notice on its website.

Students and staff have been advised to avoid Royce Quad, the area where clashes between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters resulted in police wielding pepper spray being drafted in.

Pro-Palestinian protesters had erected barricades and plywood for protection, which counter-protesters tried to pull down.

The protesters shoved and kicked one another, sometimes beating people with sticks or throwing chairs.

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Why are students protesting?

Sky News US correspondent Martha Kelner, reporting from UCLA, said: “Just look at this scene on a US university campus – California highway patrol wearing riot shields, riot masks, gas masks underneath their helmets.”

She said they were wearing gas masks “because throughout the course of the evening from inside this encampment, or at least the vicinity, a substance was released, I think, probably, pepper spray”.

“But the police here are not taking any chances, wearing gas masks – preparing, I guess, potentially to access this encampment.”

She said a protester appeared to pray at the feet of officers, adding: “She’s a pro-Palestinian protester. She’s refusing to move for the California Highway Patrol.

“She appears to be kneeling down, perhaps in prayer, at the feet of the patrol.

“It is a remarkable sight to see. These are scarcely fathomable scenes on a US university campus.”

By 5am local time, Kelner said the “volatile” situation at the campus had calmed down.

‘Occupied, vandalised, and blockaded’

On the other side of the country, police in riot gear raided Columbia University and arrested pro-Palestinian protesters occupying one of its buildings.

About 30 to 40 people were removed from the Manhattan university’s Hamilton Hall, according to police.

Those behind the protest said they had renamed the building “Hind’s Hall” in honour of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old girl killed in a strike on Gaza in February.

The raid came hours after Mayor Adams said the demonstration at the Ivy League school “must end now”.

University bosses said they called in police after protesters “chose to escalate the situation through their actions”.

“After the university learned overnight that Hamilton Hall had been occupied, vandalised, and blockaded, we were left with no choice,” a spokesman said.

“The decision to reach out to the NYPD was in response to the actions of the protesters, not the cause they are championing.

“We have made it clear that the life of campus cannot be endlessly interrupted by protesters who violate the rules and the law.”

Demonstrators said they had planned to remain at the hall until the university conceded to the Columbia University Apartheid Divest’s (CUAD) three demands: divestment, financial transparency and amnesty.

“Columbia will be proud of these students in five years,” said Sweda Polat, one of the student negotiators for CUAD.

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A large group of officers dressed in riot gear entered the campus late on Tuesday evening.

Officers were also seen entering the window of a building via a police-branded ladder vehicle nicknamed “the bear”.

Protests have also spread to other campuses around the country.

Dozens were arrested on Monday at universities in Texas, Utah, Virginia, and New Jersey.

The president of the University of Southern California, also based in Los Angeles, issued a statement on Tuesday after a swastika was drawn on campus.

“I condemn any antisemitic symbols or any form of hate speech against anyone,” Carol Folt said.

“Clearly it was drawn there just to incite even more anger at a time that is so painful for our community.

“We’re going to work to get to the bottom of this immediately, and it has just been removed.”

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby has said President Biden believes students occupying buildings was “absolutely the wrong approach” and “not an example of peaceful protest”.

Hollywood star Melissa McCarthy has responded by saying, “I win the day”, after Barbra Streisand was criticised for asking her if she had taken a weight-loss drug.

Bridesmaids star McCarthy had posted an image of herself on Instagram at a charity gala alongside US director Adam Shankman on Monday.

Streisand, the legendary singer and actress, replied in a comment below: “Give him my regards, did you take Ozempic?”

The drug can only be prescribed for patients with Type 2 diabetes and is not licensed as a weight-loss treatment in the UK or US.

Streisand posted an apology on X for her original comment which was swiftly deleted after it sparked a backlash online.

In a short video shared on Instagram, hours after the apology, McCarthy said: “The takeaway: Barbra Streisand knows I exist, she reached out to me and she thought I looked good. I win the day.”

McCarthy was holding up a magazine with Streisand on the cover in the video, which was filmed at the premiere of the new Netflix movie Unfrosted, in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

The 53-year-old will appear in the film alongside Jerry Seinfield and Hugh Grant when it is released this month.

McCarthy was earlier asked by a photographer in Los Angeles what she thought of Streisand’s comments and replied: “I think Barbra is a treasure, and I love her.”

‘I forgot the world is reading’

Streisand, 82, had said in her apology earlier on Tuesday: “I went on Instagram to see the photos we’d posted of the beautiful flowers I’d received for my birthday.

“Below them was a photo of my friend Melissa McCarthy, who I sang with on my Encore album.

“She looked fantastic! I just wanted to pay her a compliment, I forgot the world is reading!”

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In response to Streisand’s original comment referring to Ozempic, one social media user wrote: “Omg somebody please teach Barbra Streisand how to send a DM.”

Another wrote: “Omg…this comment from Barbra Streisand. Yes, it’s real, but she’s deleted it.”

Ozempic works by suppressing the appetite and lengthens the amount of time food stays in the stomach, leading to weight loss – at least for as long as you carry on taking it.

It has been banned as a treatment for obesity in the UK due to high demand for the drug causing a global shortage.

Numerous Hollywood stars are rumoured to have used Ozempic to lose weight – but just a handful of celebrities have admitted it publicly.

Stephen Fry was prescribed the drug in the US “years ago” and said earlier this year that side effects included vomiting up to five times a day.

Oprah Winfrey has said she has also taken weight-loss drugs, though she’s declined to specify which ones.