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Keir Starmer has said the UK will not join offensive strikes by Israel and the US on Iran, saying the UK does not believe in “regime change from the skies”.
But the prime minister defended the use of UK bases for defensive action, saying that was “the best way to protect British interests and British lives”.
Starmer said the UK had “learned the lessons from Iraq”, which had informed his decision not to get involved in the offensive strikes on Iran. “We all remember the mistakes of Iraq, and we have learned those lessons. Any UK actions must always have a lawful basis, and a viable thought-through plan,” he said.
Speaking in the Commons, Starmer said it was “my duty to judge what is in Britain’s national interest” despite criticism by the US president, Donald Trump, who had said he was “very disappointed” in Starmer for blocking him from using British bases to carry out strikes on Iran.
Starmer said that the UK was responding by deploying UK planes and allowing the use of bases for defensive purposes because of the retaliation from Iran, launching strikes on allies across the region.
“It is clear that Iran’s outrageous response has become a threat to our people, our interests and our allies, and it cannot be ignored,” he said. “The basis for our decision is the collective self-defence of longstanding friends and allies and protecting British lives. It is in accordance with international law.”
He said that an Iranian drone strike heading for a coalition base in Iraq – where UK forces were stationed – had been intercepted by the RAF. A drone was also fired at the British base in Cyprus, RAF Akrotiri, which Starmer said was fired before Sunday’s night’s statement on the US use of UK bases.
The defence secretary, John Healey, said the damage was minimal but that the UK was moving families who lived at RAF Akrotiri to alternative temporary accommodation in Cyprus. The bases are not being used to launch US strikes.
Starmer has not expressed explicit opposition to Saturday’s initial wave of US-Israeli attacks on Iran, which killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader, and other senior Iranian leaders. But the UK did not allow US forces to use Diego Garcia or any UK airbases because of doubts about the legality of the strikes.
Iran has since launched a wave of retaliatory missile and drone attacks on a range of targets in the Gulf and the Middle East, including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, Bahrain and Oman.
Starmer said: “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 that has been the longstanding position of successive British governments.
“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.”
But he said the UK could not stand by while UK citizens in the Gulf as well as British bases were put at risk. He said there were an estimated 300,000 British citizens in the region, including those in transit.
“Iran has hit airports and hotels where British citizens are staying. It is deeply concerning for the whole house and the whole country,” he said.
“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 said that it was not possible for British typhoons and F-35s to intercept all the Iranian strikes and that was why he had given the US permission to destroy the missiles in their storage depots or at launch sites.
Starmer said that would “prevent Iran firing missiles across the region, killing innocent civilians, putting British lives at risk and hitting countries that have not been involved”.
The prime minister said that he wanted to make sure British citizens stranded because of closed airspace could “ensure that they can return home as swiftly and safely as possible”. He said the FCDO would send rapid deployment teams to the region, especially the UAE and said British citizens should register their presence.
