UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer just announced Britain has approved a US request to use British military bases for limited defensive strikes against Iranian missiles stored in depots or ready for launch. He stressed the decision is aimed at preventing further attacks across the region and protecting British lives.
Starmer says the UK was not involved in the joint US-Israeli air strikes that killed Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and would not take part in additional waves of attacks. However, he added that Iran had retaliated with sustained missile fire, hitting airports and hotels where British citizens were staying.
British fighter jets are already participating in defensive operations, intercepting incoming missiles. Starmer said allowing the US to operate from UK bases is justified under collective self-defence and international law, arguing that destroying missiles at their source is the only way to remove the immediate threat...
As he states on social media:
The United States has requested permission to use British bases for that specific and limited defensive purpose. We have taken the decision to accept this request to prevent Iran firing missiles across the region. Our decision that the UK would not be involved with the strikes on Iran was deliberate, not least because we believe that the best way forward for the region and for the world is a negotiated settlement, one in which Iran agrees to give up any aspirations to develop a nuclear weapon. But Iran is striking British interests nonetheless, and putting British people at huge risk.
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