Defiant Starmer tells Trump ‘I stand by my decision’ to not be part of assaults on Iran | EUROtoday

Sir Keir Starmer has defiantly hit again at Donald Trump and defended his determination to not enable British navy bases for use by the US for the primary wave of strikes towards Iran, telling the Commons: “I stand by my decision.”

The prime minister granted permission on Sunday for the US to make use of UK bases to focus on Iran’s missile launchers and shops to assist shield international locations focused by Tehran, however the US president stated he was “very disappointed” with Sir Keir over his preliminary refusal to permit the US to make use of the UK-US Diego Garcia base on the Chagos Islands as a part of the operation. He added that it “took far too long” for the prime minister to alter his thoughts.

In a press release to the Commons, Sir Keir stated he stood by his determination and warned that his get together had “learnt the lessons of Iraq”, remembering Tony Blair’s determination in 2003 to help one other US president in invading a Middle East state.

Sir Keir stated: “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.”

Later he added: “How we operate on the world stage matters so much. We all remember the mistakes of Iraq and we have learned those lessons. Any UK actions must always have a lawful basis.”

The assertion got here as President Trump warned that the “biggest wave” of assaults on Iran was but to come back because the warfare within the Middle East quickly escalated.

An Iranian drone assault on the Akrotiri RAF base in Cyprus on Sunday evening got here after the prime minister had given the US permission to make use of UK bases for defensive operations. But it was held up for example of the “indiscriminate” manner Iran was retaliating. Sir Keir stated the assault on Akrotiri had been initiated earlier than he gave the US permission to make use of RAF bases for defensive actions, and identified that the bases in Cyprus wouldn’t be utilized by the Americans as a result of they weren’t appropriate.

He went on: “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.” But he insisted: “We are not at war and we are not getting involved in the offensive action the US and others are taking.”

Around 300,000 Britons are believed to be in international locations focused by Iran, with 102,000 registering their presence with the Foreign Office, whose employees are engaged on contingency plans, together with a potential mass evacuation.

The prime minister’s assertion was welcomed by Labour MPs who insisted that he should respect worldwide regulation, however the Tories joined Reform UK in warning that the prime minister wanted to say whose facet he’s on.

The Conservative chief, Kemi Badenoch, stated: “Unbelievably in his statement today, the prime minister still cannot say whether he backs the strikes or not. Today, the president of the United States has taken the extraordinary step of rebuking the prime minister publicly, saying he took far too long to grant access.”

On the difficulty of worldwide regulation, she stated: “International law didn’t prevent our allies from clearly and unequivocally stating whose side they were on. You don’t need international law to say whose side you’re on. It has not prevented British governments in the past from supporting strikes which we knew to be right. Why is it that, under this prime minister, international law always seems to be at odds with our national interest?”

But Labour international affairs committee chair Emily Thornberry stated: “Although the attack on Iran by the US and Israel was ill-advised, ill-judged and illegal, it is absolutely no excuse for the Iranians to recklessly bombard its Gulf neighbours. I’d like to ask the prime minister, is he in a position to give us more details on what we’re doing with our Ukrainian friends to support the collective self-defence of Arab nations against the Iranian Shahed drones that are causing so much damage in Ukraine and now in the Gulf.”

Sir Keir replied: “Ukraine, sadly, has more expertise than anyone in dealing with drones, and that’s why we’re putting their expertise and our expertise together and using it to help our allies in the region.”

Mother of the House, the veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott, warned that “the shadow of Iraq” hung over the choice. Quite a lot of MPs additionally pressed Sir Keir to make sure that the UK wouldn’t enter the warfare with no vote within the House.