Rachel Reeves Slams Trump Over ‘Folly’ Of Iran War

Rachel Reeves has slammed Donald Trump over the “folly” of starting a war against Iran as the division between the UK and the US deepens.

The chancellor told the Mirror newspaper she feels “very frustrated and angry” over the conflict, which continues to push energy bills up in the UK.

Reeves said: “This is a war that we did not start. It was a war that we did not want.

“I feel very frustrated and angry that the US went into this war without a clear exit plan, without a clear idea of what they were trying to achieve. And as a result the Strait of Hormuz is now blocked.”

Up until Trump and Israel decided to bomb Iran at the end of February, the Strait of Hormuz operated as a major shipping lane transporting a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas supplies.

Iran retaliated by effectively closing the waterway and attacking any ships which passed through it, causing the wholesale cost of oil to soar.

Trump has since declared the US will start its own blockade of the Strait, although the the UK government has refused to send its own Navy to support that action.

Reeves also reiterated the UK’s decision not to support Trump’s offensives in the Middle East, saying: “We’re not getting involved in the US blockade, we don’t think that is the right approach.

“All the way through this conflict we have said de-escalate, de-escalate. The Conservatives and Reform – they both wanted to jump in feet first into this conflict and for us to play a part in active, aggressive, offensive action.”

“Obviously no sensible person is a supporter of the Iranian regime,” the chancellor continued.

“But to start a conflict without being clear what the objectives are and not being clear about how you are going to get out of it, I do think that is a folly and it is one that is affecting families here in the UK but also families in the US and around the world.

“I don’t think it was the right decision. But it was absolutely the right decision for Keir Starmer – our prime minister – to keep us out of this conflict.”

Reeves’ words come after the prime minister insisted once again that Britain will not be “dragged in” to the conflict.

The PM added: “We’re not supporting the blockade and all of the marshalling diplomatically, politically and capability – we do have mine-sweeping capability, I won’t go into operational matters, but we do have that capability – that’s all focused, from our point of view, on getting the strait fully open.”

The UK’s relationship with the US has declined over the course of the war, with Trump repeatedly attacking the prime minister over his decision not to initially allow US jets to launch bombing missions from RAF bases.

The president has said Starmer is “not Winston Churchill” and even compared him to Hitler-appeasing 1930s PM Neville Chamberlain.

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