Keir Starmer’s ‘deep concern’ over Iran assaults on civilian websites as No10 points replace
Keir Starmer has expressed ‘solidarity’ with the leaders of several Middle Eastern countries ‘in the face of dangerous Iranian escalation’ following joint US-Israeli air strikes
The Prime Minister also expressed ‘deep concern’ about attacks on civilian sites in a call with leaders in the Middle East(Image: ANDY RAIN/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock)
Keir Starmer has expressed “solidarity” with the leaders of several Middle Eastern countries “in the face of dangerous Iranian escalation” following joint US-Israeli air strikes.
In an update on Sunday afternoon, Downing Street said the Prime Minister had spoken to the kings of Jordan and Bahrain as well as the crown prince of Kuwait this morning as strikes continued across the region.
Explosions have been heard in multiple Gulf states as Iran vowed to carry out its “most intense operation” ever in retaliation for the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Speaking to the three leaders, Mr Starmer expressed “deep concern” about attacks on civilian sites, and discussed ensuring the safety of British nationals and military personnel. And he told the nations the UK has “planes in the sky” to defend its partners in the region.
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Referring to the call, a Downing Street spokesman said: “They discussed the safety of civilians in the region, including British nationals and armed forces personnel, and expressed deep concern that strikes have hit civilian and commercial infrastructure – harming innocent people.
“He reiterated that the UK has had planes in the sky since yesterday as part of the coordinated defensive response to protect our partners in the region, and would continue to offer our support.”
Yesterday, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper condemned “indiscriminate Iranian strikes” after a fire broke out at a luxury hotel in Dubai. In a statement on X, Ms Cooper said she had spoken to her Emirati counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan “to express our solidarity with the UAE”. She said: “The scenes in the Palm Hotel in Dubai are awful. The UK condemns these indiscriminate Iranian strikes.”
The UK has played no part in the US-Israeli strikes, but Defence Secretary John Healey warned on Sunday that Iranian retaliation could put UK personnel and allies at risk. On Sunday, he said Iranian strikes landed within “a few hundred yards” of British troops in Bahrain. And he also confirmed UK forces have shot down Iranian drones in northern Iraq in the last 24 hours.
Mr Healey also confirmed two ballistic missiles capable of causing significant damage were fired towards Cyprus on Saturday. He said the Ministry of Defence does not believe the missiles were “targeted” at the island. But he said Iran was becoming “increasingly indiscriminate, widespread and uncontrolled” in its attacks.
Mr Healey said: “When I talk about increasingly indiscriminate attacks, I know people at home will be worried that not just military targets were hit last yesterday, but also we’ve seen hotels in Dubai and Bahrain. We’ve seen Kuwait’s civilian airport. But in that Bahrain military base that was hit by missiles and drones yesterday, we had 300 British personnel, some within several hundred yards of the strike.”
He also warned that Iranian missile commanders were “increasingly allowed to choose their own targets” as the country was “losing its command and control”.
The Defence chief said defensive British aircraft in the Middle East will “take down” Iranian missiles and drones “menacing” UK bases and allies. He added: “I can confirm that we’ve got a counter drone team in northern Iraq and they took down Iranian drones during the course of the last 24 hours.”
On the death of Khamenei, Mr Healey said: “I think few people will mourn the Ayatollah’s death, not least the family and friends of those thousands of young protesters murdered on the streets of Iranian cities. Iran and the regime he’s led for so long, it’s a source of evil, murdering its own citizens and sponsoring and exporting terror, including to countries like Britain.”
But Mr Healey refused to say whether the UK thought the US strikes were legal. He said: “Britain played no part in the strikes on Iran. We share, however, the primary aim of all allies in the region and the US that Iran should never have a nuclear weapon.” He later added: “It is for the US to set out the legal basis of the action that it took.”
Mr Healey also declined to say whether the UK had refused the US permission to use British bases to strike Iran but said: “What I can say is we’ve stepped up alongside the Americans. We’ve stepped up our defensive forces in the Middle East.”
The Government, along with France and Germany, has condemned Iran’s retaliation and urged Tehran to return to the negotiating table. But other allies have gone further, with both Canada and Australia saying they supported the US “acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon” and continuing to threaten “international peace and security”.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski criticised the Government for refusing to say whether it supported Donald Trump ’s strikes or not. He said: “We’ve seen what I would say is an illegal and unprovoked attack. We’ve got a Defence Secretary saying that diplomacy is the long runway we need but won’t condemn Donald Trump when he attacks a country and assassinates its leader. That’s the law of the jungle. That’s an end to international law.”
But Tory shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel hit out at ministers for not being more “proactive” in backing the strikes.
