In his strongest rebuke of US President Donald Trump yet, Keir Starmer said he would not commit British forces to military action in Iran without a clear lawful basis
Keir Starmer has said the UK “does not believe in regime change from the skies” as he hit back at Donald Trump as war raged across the Middle East.
In his strongest rebuke of the US President yet, the Prime Minister said the UK had learned the lessons of the Iraq War and he would not commit British forces to military action without a clear lawful basis. It comes after the US President lashed out at Mr Starmer for taking too long to allow the US to use British bases to target Iran’s missile launchers and stores. Mr Trump said he was “very disappointed”, adding: “It took far too much time. Far too much time.”
The US President warned that the “big wave” of attacks on Iran are yet to come. He told CNN: “We haven’t even started hitting them hard. The big wave hasn’t even happened. The big one is coming soon.” He also refused to rule out sending US troops to Iran if “necessary.”
Ensure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as your Preferred Source in your Google search settings.
READ MORE: Donald Trump ‘very disappointed’ with PM Starmer’s initial block on US military base useREAD MORE: Hundreds of thousands of Brits trapped in Middle East as evacuations planned
Conflict has spiralled across the Middle East as Tehran and its allies pounded Israel and countries with links to the US, including Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. Officials are drawing up plans for a mass evacuation of Brits stranded in the region after thousands of flights were cancelled as large swathes of airspace across the Middle East remain closed.
More than 300,000 British nationals are believed to be in the region, including a significant number of holidaymakers.
In a statement to Parliament on Monday, Mr Starmer said: “President Trump has expressed his disagreement with our decision not to join the initial strikes. But it is my duty to judge what is in Britain’s national interest, and that is the judgement I made. I stand by it.”
However, he said Iran’s reckless retaliation had put British lives at risk and threatened the UK’s allies, firing off hundreds of missiles and drones at countries which did not take part in the attack. The UK will not join offensive action against Iran, the PM said, as he cast doubt on the legality of the US-Israeli strikes and whether Mr Trump had a proper plan.
“This Government does not believe in regime change from the skies,” Mr Starmer said. “The lessons of history have taught us that it is important when we make decisions like this that we establish there is a lawful basis for what the United Kingdom is doing. That is one of the lessons from Iraq – that there is a viable thought-through plan with an objective that can be achieved.”
The PM said the Iranian regime had “long brought horror to the world ” by destabilising the region, targeting British shipping in the Red Sea and its support for Russia in Ukraine. He said: “Here in the UK, Iran has directed threats toward dissidents and the Jewish community. Over the last year alone, Iran-backed plots against people in the UK have been disrupted. We must be clear about the threat that Iran poses.”
Mr Starmer went on: “This is a dangerous moment. Our first thoughts are with British citizens in the region – friends, family members and constituents.”
The Foreign Office is looking at all options to evacuate British nationals by air, land, and sea, with more than 102,000 people already registering their presence with the Government. “The situation on the ground may remain challenging for some time, so we’re sending rapid deployment teams to the region to support our British nationals on the ground,” the PM said.
Shaken-up Brits have told of being stuck in Dubai as airspace remained shut due to the unprecedented drone attacks. Salli J Oliver, 46, from Grimsby, described to the Mirror the terrifying moment her “hotel shook” as bombs dropped on the city.
She was at the city’s famous JBR Beach with her partner Kevin Pell, 39, teenage sons Jayden, 18, and Reece, 15, and 30-year-old friend Amy when loud explosions suddenly echoed through the sky. The TikTok beauty star revealed they narrowly escaped the blast – and said the building near where they took a taxi was attacked only 20 minutes later.
Salli had initially dismissed frantic warnings from family back home, telling her concerned mum: “I’m fine Mum, I’ve got a coconut drink in my hand”. But back at the hotel, when emergency sirens later blared on their mobile phones, the panicked family was forced into a terrifying evacuation down hotel stairs.
“There were babies and women screaming and crying – it was awful,” she said. The family then endured a night reminiscent of the Blitz, with five adults huddled together in a single bed in the room furthest from the hotel’s exposed windows.
Desperate to return to Britain with all flights currently grounded, the family faces an eye-watering £2,000-per-week hotel bill if they can’t make it home by Thursday.
Blaine Chapman was with his partner Kaleigh, from Nottinghamshire, and their two kids on Al Marjan Island for a family holiday. They thought they spotted shooting stars in the sky – but they turned out to be drones fired from Tehran. “We have all been on edge since”, he said.
NHS doctor Muhammad Irfan, 31, arrived in the city on February 28 – the day the attacks started. “I was in disbelief that conflict had spread to the Gulf, including Dubai”, he said.
And a British woman living in Dubai says it’s like “living in a warzone” after being told to keep a window open in case of more blasts. Elbi Henshaw, 24, was given the advice to stop the windows of her 46th floor apartment from shattering during attacks from Iranian missiles.
She moved to Dubai in January 2025 due to “the crime rate” and “miserable weather ” in the UK – but is now sheltering in her high rise flat from the conflict.