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SIR Keir Starmer remarks on prioritizing “de-escalation” but it’s evident the UK was not in control when the US executed its significant overnight strikes on Iran.
He insists the Government was “given due notice” but that’s just diplomatic code for we were told, not asked.
Britain played no part in the military action, didn’t offer its bases, and wasn’t in the room when the trigger was pulled.
For a country that calls the US its closest ally, it’s a humbling moment.
While the PM has backed the goal – stopping Iran from building a bomb – he’s skating carefully around the method.
He won’t say if the strikes were legal. He won’t say what it would take for Britain to get involved.
He’s trying to have it both ways: supporting Washington while staying out of the firing line.
So far, it’s a delicate balancing act, but one that gets harder by the hour.
If Iran strikes back, especially at US or Israeli targets, pressure on Britain to act will skyrocket.
Meanwhile, the opposition is flexing its muscles.
Priti Patel says the strikes were “absolutely essential” and questions whether the UK even offered help.
She’s urging the government to move faster, act tougher, and stop hiding behind process.
And she’s not wrong to ask: if Britain has the capability to help stop a nuclear Iran, why didn’t we step up?
The PM of course, wants to sound strong, act calm, and avoid war.
But when your closest ally goes in hard, and you’re stuck on the sidelines, questions start piling up.
This comes as Starmer called for an urgent Cobra meeting this afternoon.
He mentioned to reporters on Sky News, “I want to assure the British people that we’re doing all we can to stabilize and calm the situation, aiming for a negotiated resolution.
“But I’m very clear in my own mind that Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.
“That is the greatest threat to stability in the region.”
He said there was a “risk of escalation” and added: “That’s a risk to the region.
“The risk extends beyond the region, hence our complete focus has been on reducing tensions and encouraging parties back to the negotiation table concerning the very real threat posed by the nuclear programme.
“In relation to the UK, we were not involved in the attack. We were given due notice, as we would expect, as close allies to the US, and we have been moving assets to the region to make sure we’re in a position to protect our own interests, our personnel and our assets, and, of course, those of our allies.”
Russia ‘strongly condemns’ Trump’s nuke site blitz
By Annabel Bate
The Russian foreign ministry “strongly condemns” Trump’s “irresponsible decision” to inflict “missile and bomb strikes” on Iran.
It said in a statement: “The consequences of this action, including radiological ones, have yet to be assessed.
“But it is already obvious that a dangerous escalation has begun, fraught with further undermining of regional and global security.
“The risk of an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, already engulfed in multiple crises, has increased significantly.”
It added: “the UN Security Council must also react.
“The confrontational actions of the US and Israel must be collectively rejected.”
The PM added how the UK had taken “all necessary measures” to protect Brits.
Asked whether the UK could be required to intervene under Nato rules, if Iran attacked US bases in the region, Starmer said: “I’m not going to speculate about what may happen, because all of my focus is on de-escalation.
“But I do want to reassure the public we have taken all necessary measures to protect UK interests, UK personnel and to work with our allies to protect their interests as well.
“That’s what you’d expect, but my focus is on de-escalating this situation. Dealing with the threat that is that nuclear programme, but getting the parties around the table to negotiate an outcome to this.”
INCREASED THREAT
Iranian foreign minister today announced he is to meet with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin within hours.
He warned the West of “unprecedented danger” after the US blitzed three of its nuclear sites.
Meanwhile Donald Trump has threatened since even more strikes on the country, and dubbed the operation a “spectacular military success”.
The Prime Minister also released a statement this morning in which he called for Iran to “return to the negotiating table”.
He urged the Tehran to “reach a diplomatic solution to end this crisis”.
But a Cabinet minister has warned the UK faces an increased threat of Iranian attacks.
Business Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, has now warned Iran’s spying operations in the UK were “already at a significant level”.
“I think it would be naive to say that wouldn’t potentially increase but again, there’s a choice here for Iran,” he continued.
“Do they want to continue being an agent of instability in the region and the wider world? Where has that got them? Where has it got the Iranian people?
“There is a better course of action for Iran to take here and I think they should consider that.”
Just last month, cops busted an alleged terror plot targeting Israel’s embassy in London by Iranian nationals.
And, the UK has already declared Iran as a security threat under new laws that state they must register their activities in the UK or face five years in jail.
Mr Reynolds also earlier confirmed the UK wasn’t involved in the strikes.
He told Sky News: “We support the prevention of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. We had proposed a diplomatic course of action, as other European countries had done.
“The Iranians had rejected that. And I know people will be waking up this morning, and they’ll be worried.
ANALYSIS: Global fall-out of the US strikes
By Patrick Harrington
Philip Ingram, an international security expert, told The Sun: “Iranian ballistic missiles will not reach the United States and therefore to try and respond to the United States attack Iran’s going to have to do something different.
“It’ll bring its coalition of the willing that it has together or as we call them the axis of evil. So we’ve got Iran, Russia, North Korea and China.
“China will likely sit back and wait to see what’s happening, to begin with. But North Korea may provide Iran with some missile technology.
“Russia is sitting there laughing all the way to the bank effectively.
“The escalating conflict helps Russia by moving Russia-Ukraine further down the agenda so that people aren’t focusing on it.
“Iran and Russia will join forces to try and cause as much disruption in different countries as possible through protest and through disinformation.
“There will be two reactions directly out of Iran. One, the stimulation of their proxy organisations that they have operating across the world. Hamas and Hezbollah have been largely destroyed by Israel.
“But they’ve still got the Houthis in Yemen. I think we will see a massive uptake in Houthi activity in disrupting international shipping in the Red Sea.
“The other reaction could be trying to close the Straits of Hormuz. 30 percent of the world’s oil and gas goes through there.
“Even a threat to close it will put energy prices spiking to a level that will make the spike we saw when Russia invaded Ukraine seem like small change.”
“They’ll want to know what this means, and I do want to give them reassurance that whilst the British government, the UK has not been involved in these attacks, we have been making extensive preparations for all eventualities, including how we look after British nationals in the region and how we get them out, and the assets we have in the region to protect British infrastructure, British bases, British personnel if we need to do that.
“But from where we are now, what I think we need to do as the President I believe himself has said is, get back around the table. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, but we need a diplomatic process.”
And Britain’s military base of Diego Garcia was not used by the US as a staging post for the US military attack on Iran, as reported by The Times.
The jets were flown from the US military base in Guam in the Pacific – twice as far from Iran as Diego Garcia.
There had been speculation that Diego Garcia would be used by the US, which would have caused a legal, diplomatic and military headache for the UK government as it would have had to give approval to any US attack.
This would have dragged the UK directly into the conflict. Government sources said Diego Garcia was not used.
France has also expressed “concern” over US air strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, calling on all parties to “exercise restraint”.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot posted on X: “France has taken note with concern of the strikes carried out last night by the United States of America against three sites of Iran’s nuclear programme.”
He made it clear that France didn’t take part in the planning of those strikes.
Barrot added that he “urges all parties to exercise restraint to avoid any escalation that could lead to an extension of the conflict”.
There was no immediate reaction from President Emmanuel Macron, who had said Saturday that France and its European partners planned to step up talks with Iran.
