Starmer from the UK states that the US is permitted to utilize British bases for defensive operations against Iranian missiles
On Sunday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that the UK has agreed to a request from the U.S. to utilize British bases for defensive operations targeting Iranian missiles located in storage depots or launchers.
The United States has requested permission to use British bases specifically for this limited defensive purpose. ” We have decided to accept this request to prevent Iran from firing missiles across the region,” he stated in a video message on X.
Starmer emphasized that Britain had no role in the joint U.S.-Israel air strikes on Iran that resulted in the death of the country’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday, stating that Britain would refrain from participating in any additional strikes.
He stated that Iran had responded by conducting ongoing attacks throughout the region, targeting airports and hotels where British citizens were present. “Our choice for the UK to refrain from participating in strikes on Iran was intentional, primarily because we believe that the most effective path for the region and the world is through a negotiated resolution, in which Iran commits to abandoning any ambitions to develop a nuclear weapon,” he remarked. “However, Iran continues to strike British interests, placing British citizens in significant danger.”
He stated that Britain’s partners in the Gulf had requested greater support for their defense, emphasizing his responsibility to safeguard British lives.
British fighter jets were actively engaged in coordinated defensive operations and had successfully intercepted Iranian strikes, he stated, but the only effective way to eliminate the threat was to target the missiles at their origin in storage depots or launchers.
He stated that accepting the U.S. request was grounded in the “collective self-defense of long-standing friends and allies and protecting British lives” in line with international law.
