Starmer: “We don’t join the attacks, but we defend our allies”
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed that Britain has approved a request by the United States to use British military bases to strike Iranian missile facilities, amid a rapidly escalating conflict between the US, Israel and Iran.
The decision marks a significant change of position, after London had previously refused similar requests from Washington.
What does the agreement entail?
According to the Prime Minister’s official statement, the British bases will be able to be used exclusively for “specific and limited defensive purposes”.
“We gave this permission to prevent Iran from launching missiles across the region, killing innocent civilians, putting British lives at risk and hitting states that were not involved,” Starmer said.
Among the facilities that could be used are the Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, formerly used for US B-52 bombers.
200,000 Britons in the region
The Prime Minister pointed out that there are around 200,000 British citizens, residents, tourists or people in transit in the Middle East.
“Iran has launched sustained attacks on countries. They have hit airports and hotels where British citizens are staying. It is a dangerous situation,” he said.
Starmer confirmed that a military base in Bahrain had been hit, with Iranian missiles narrowly missing British personnel.
“We are not repeating the mistakes of Iraq”
The Prime Minister insisted that Britain was not joining US and Israeli offensive operations.
“We do not join these attacks, but we will continue our defensive actions in the region.”
“I want to be very clear: We remember the mistakes of Iraq. We learned those lessons.”
The British government has stated that the support provided is aimed at the defense of allies and the protection of British forces in the region.
Extremely tense situation
Israel announced that it had continued strikes on targets in Tehran, and Iranian state media reported the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran has vowed “devastating” retaliation and has launched missiles and drones at Israel, Gulf states and US targets.
Airspace in several countries, including Iran, Iraq, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, has been closed, massively affecting international air traffic.
British forces on alert
Defense Secretary John Healey confirmed that around 300 British troops were near targets hit in Bahrain.
He also said two Iranian missiles were fired at Cyprus, where Britain has major military bases, including RAF Akrotiri.
“We don’t know yet whether British facilities were targeted intentionally,” Healey said.
British forces in Cyprus are on high alert.
Harsh political reactions in Britain
The Prime Minister’s decision generated immediate reactions on the political scene.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski criticized the ruling, saying “it only took one phone call from Donald Trump for Starmer to jump into another illegal war in the Middle East”.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the decision was “better late than never”.
The Liberal Democrats have called for a vote in Parliament on the use of British bases. Party leader Sir Ed Davey warned the situation was a “slippery slope” and called for clarification of the legal basis for the decision.
Risk of regional escalation
British officials warn that Iranian attacks could continue and that there is a risk of the conflict widening.
In addition to the military implications, analysts point to possible effects on energy markets, trade routes and global stability.
For now, the British government says the priority is protecting British citizens and military personnel in the region and avoiding further escalation.
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