Politics Home | Keir Starmer Says UK Not Joining US And Israel “Offensive Strikes” On Iran

Prime Minister Keir Starmer addressed the House of Commons on Monday afternoon (Alamy)

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Over the weekend, the US and Israel carried out military strikes deep inside Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior officials.

Iran has retaliated by firing missiles and drones across the Middle East, targeting Gulf states and military positions. The states targeted by Iran are UK allies, and where thousands of Brits are based.

British officials publicly stated the UK military did not participate in the US/Israeli strikes and did not endorse the offensive military actions.

However, on Sunday evening, Starmer announced that the UK had agreed to grant the US permission to use British military bases for “limited and specific” defensive strikes against Iranian missile sites and launchers.

The government says that it is protecting British people in the region by targeting Iranian military capability “at source” to stop Tehran releasing missiles. 

Since the conflict escalated, the RAF has intercepted an Iranian drone that was headed for a base in Iraq where British military personnel are based. Iran has also launched a drone at a British base in Cyprus. The latter, which took place before Starmer’s statement on Sunday, caused minimal damage but no casualties.

Speaking to MPs on Monday, Starmer said: “President Trump has expressed his disagreement with our decision not to get involved in the initial strikes, but it is my duty to judge what is in Britain’s national interest; that is what I’ve done, and I stand by it.”

He added that the UK would continue its “defensive actions” in the region, which he described as the “collective self-defence of long-standing friends and allies”.

“We believe that the best way forward for the region and for the world is a negotiated settlement in which Iran agrees to give up any aspirations to develop a nuclear weapon and ceases its destabilising activity across the region,” he said, adding that this had been the “long-standing position of successive British governments”.

He said that any UK action must have a “lawful basis and a viable thought-through plan”, adding that “we all remember the mistakes of Iraq and have learned those lessons”.

There is a belief among British security officials that Iran has the capacity to continue attacks on British allies in the Gulf for at least a week. So far, Tehran has launched attacks on states including Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The government estimates that there are around 300,000 British people in the region.

“Iran has hit airports and hotels where British citizens are staying. It is deeply concerning for the whole house and the whole country,” he told MPs.

“I’ve been speaking to our Gulf partners over the weekend, they’re outraged by Iran’s acts, particularly as they played no part in any strikes, and they’ve asked us to do more to defend them. Moreover, it is my duty, the highest duty of my office, to protect British lives.”

Starmer urged all British citizens in the affected areas to register their presence so they can be given support. He said that the government was in close contact with the travel industry and governments in the region to help them “return home as swiftly and safely as possible”.

“We’re looking at all options to support our people,” the PM said.

Starmer said that there would not be a parliamentary vote on the action taken by the government so far, as it has been limited to defensive, rather than offensive, action.

He added that the government was also reaching out to communities across the United Kingdom, including Muslim and Jewish community organisations, amid concern that the conflict in the Middle East could impact community tensions in the UK.

“We’re making sure that sites across the country, including places of worship, have appropriate protective security in place,” Starmer said.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch criticised the government for not offering more support to US strikes on Iran, highlighting that the UK’s allies in Canada and Australia “immediately backed the action taken by America against this despotic regime in Tehran”.

“I have made it very clear that the Conservative Party also stands behind America taking this necessary action against state-sponsored terror,” she said, accusing Starmer of hesitating over the decision to allow the US to use British air bases. 

US President Donald Trump has said that while it was “useful” that the UK had agreed on Sunday evening, “it took far too much time” to come to the decision.

Badenoch continued: “It took Iranian missiles hitting allies in the Gulf before he finally made a decision, and even after that, the foreign secretary said this morning that the government has put limits on the actions of our allies, operating from our bases.

“Unbelievably, in his statement today, the Prime Minister still cannot say whether he backs the strikes or not.”