Sir Keir Starmer on Monday said his Government ‘does not believe in regime change from the skies’, in an apparent criticism of the US President.
The widening war between Iran and the US and its allies has entered its fourth day, after the Prime Minister rebuked Donald Trump’s approach to the conflict.
Sir Keir Starmer on Monday said his Government “does not believe in regime change from the skies”, in an apparent criticism of the US President’s bombing campaign in the Middle East.
The Prime Minister also told the House of Commons on Wednesday he stood by his decision not to get involved with America and Israel’s initial wave of strikes on Iran, and insisted any action by the UK “must always have a lawful basis and a viable thought-through plan”.
Mr Trump had criticised Sir Keir’s decision not to allow American jets to deploy from UK bases to undertake the strikes, telling the Telegraph he was “very disappointed” in the Prime Minister.
UK bases are now in play in the conflict, but only so the US can strike defensively to protect countries being targeted by Tehran.
This is understood to include the joint US-UK Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.
The conflict spiralled throughout Monday, with a series of US airstrikes on Iran, while Israel targeted the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon, allies of the Iranian regime.
Tehran, meanwhile, launched strikes against Israel, and the oil and natural gas production facilities of Gulf states allied to the US.
Mr Trump also suggested the war would escalate further, telling CNN that a “big” wave of airstrikes on Iran is yet to come.
He also said that America planned for the conflict to last for some four or five weeks, and has signalled that the US wants to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities, its navy and any hope of it obtaining nuclear weapons.
Mr Trump has, however, provided scant detail about what the US’s exit plan from the war might be.
Britons continue to remain stranded throughout the Middle East, with more than 100,000 having registered their presence with the Foreign Office amid evacuation planning.
Large areas of airspace over the region remain closed because of the fighting, and tourism safe spots like Dubai have come under fire in missile attacks.
Some flights have, however, begun to bring people home to the UK. On Monday afternoon, an Etihad Airways flight carrying stranded British nationals arrived at Heathrow airport, according to flight tracking company Flightradar24.
