UK Ex PM Condemns Trump Over Iran War Handling

A former British prime minister has condemned Donald Trump’s handling of the war in Iran.

Sir John Major suggested the US-Israeli bombing campaign, which began nearly three weeks ago, was illegal and said the US president had no idea how the conflict will end.

“There was no diplomatic attempt to obtain a UN resolution to give legality to the war,” the former Tory PM said in a speech on Wednesday night. “No nation – other than Israel – was even consulted.

“This was despite the fact that the war was bound have much wider repercussions across the Middle East and beyond. Many nations will pay a price for this war.

“Hostilities will not end when bombing stops. Old hatreds will linger. New hatreds will have been born. A new generation may have been radicalised. Retaliation may be deferred, but it is likely to come.”

Major, who was prime minister at the time of the first Gulf War in Iraq in the early 1990s, added: “No exit strategy is known. The president demanded surrender. He is unlikely to get it.”

In a thinly-veiled swipe at Keir Starmer, he also criticised world leaders for trying to “tiptoe round the president to avoid upsetting him”.

“Although I understand that, I do not agree with it,” he said.

“Sovereign states that demean themselves will be seen as subordinates and not allies. That is not a role for the UK.

“If we disagree with American policy we should say so – as a friend that cares for the wellbeing of an ally. Statesmen do this in private ‒ not in public.”

Major, who was prime minister from 1990 until 1997, also hit out at some of Trump’s other forays into foreign affairs.

He said: “Uncertainty was reinforced by the president’s dismissive attitude to Europe, his demands for the ownership of Greenland – the territory of a Nato ally.

“And his expressed view that the incursion of Ukraine by Russia was solely a problem for Europe. This is not the America we have known.”