The United Kingdom UK has agreed to a request by the US to use British military bases for “defensive” strikes on Iranian missile sites
UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer however said that having learnt lessons from the “mistakes of Iraq”, UK was not involved in the initial strikes on Iran.
According to him the UK “will not join offensive action now”.
Keir said the basis of the decision to accept the US request was the “collective self-defence” of allies and protecting British lives, accusing Iran of pursuing a “scorched-earth strategy”.
The US is anticipated to use RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for strikes on Iranian missile sites.
In his video statement on Sunday, the PM said the US would use UK bases for the “specific and limited defensive purpose” of destroying Iran’s missiles “at source”.
He added that the move was in accordance with international law, and the UK government had published what it said was a summary of its legal advice.
Likely necessity
US President Donald Trump said it “may be necessary” for the US to use RAF Fairford and Diego Garcia for operations should Iran “decide not to make a deal”.
US had used both bases in the past to conduct long-range heavy bombing missions.
The US and Israel began attacking Iran early on Saturday, with Trump encouraging the Iranian people to remove the country’s government.
The Iranian regime has responded with attacks on US assets and countries in the region with a US military presence, including Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq.
Sir Keir had said UK aircraft were “in the sky” in the Middle East as part of a defensive operation to protect its allies and citizens in the region, but said the UK “played no role” in the strikes.
On Sunday, he said British aircraft had successfully intercepted Iranian strikes, but added:
“Our partners in the Gulf have asked us to do more to defend them and it’s my duty to protect British lives.”
