Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the continued bombardment of Lebanon was ‘wrong’ and must stop as cracks began to emerge in the two-week pause in Donald Trump’s bombing campaign
Keir Starmer has condemned Israel for mass strikes on Lebanon as he warned the fragile Iran-US ceasefire was hanging in the balance.
The Prime Minister said the continued bombardment by Tel Aviv was “wrong” and must stop as cracks began to emerge in the two-week pause in Donald Trump’s bombing campaign.
Only hours after the ceasefire was announced, Israel intensified its hostilities against Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group, in Lebanon, insisting it was outside of the terms of the ceasefire agreement. But Iran has accused Israel of violating the pact.
Speaking on a trip to the region, Mr Starmer also called out Donald Trump over his expletive-laden tirade against Iran and his calls for an end to Iranian civilisation. “Let me be really clear about this – they are not words I would use, ever use, because I come at this with our British values and principles,” he told ITV’s Talking Politics podcast.
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Asked if the ceasefire had been breached by Israel’s attacks on Lebanon, Mr Starmer said: “Well, it’s hard to say there’s a breach when we haven’t all got access to all the details of the ceasefire. But look, let me do really clear about it. They’re wrong… that shouldn’t be happening. That should stop. That’s my strong view.
“And therefore the question isn’t a technical one of whether it’s a breach of the agreement or not. The one is actually a matter of principles as far as I’m concerned. And in a sense, my argument would be it should be included in the ceasefire, and that’s the important part, the overall approach.”
His comments came after Yvette Cooper said Lebanon must be “urgently” included in Iran’s ceasefire deal. The Foreign Secretary warned the continued bombardment by Tel Aviv risked destabilising the entire region
Ms Cooper told Times Radio: “One of the things I do feel very strongly about is we want to see Lebanon included in the ceasefire. We want it extended to cover Lebanon, because otherwise that will destabilise the whole region, and also it’s just the right thing to do.
“That escalation that we saw from Israel yesterday, I think, was deeply damaging and we want to see an end to hostilities in Lebanon.”
Ms Cooper also warned Iran must not hijack the Strait of Hormuz with shipping tolls. “As part of the international maritime law, this is a transit route between the high seas,” she said.
“Countries cannot simply hijack those kinds of international transit routes and unilaterally apply tolls. They cannot do that as part of the laws of the sea and the United Nations conventions.”