“Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, and the US has taken action to alleviate that threat,” Starmer said today in a tacit acceptance that the action was necessary. “The situation in the Middle East remains volatile and stability in the region is a priority. We call on Iran to return to the negotiating table and reach a diplomatic solution to end this crisis.”
Meanwhile, Starmer is saddled with the knowledge that Trump simply doesn’t care what he, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Friedrich Merz think. This is a war Trump can prosecute on his own.
Trump’s unilateral decision to proceed with military action also demonstrates the failure of efforts by European nations to de-escalate the conflict. Foreign ministers from the UK, France and Germany held talks with their Iranian counterpart on Friday but were unable to persuade Trump not to go ahead.
Starmer spent today [Sunday] discussing the next steps with allies in the region including King Abdullah of Jordan by phone, before he travels to the Netherlands this week for the Nato summit.
Last autumn Ken McCallum, the director general of MI5, said the UK has responded to 20 Iran-backed plots since the start of 2022, presenting potentially lethal threats here at home, adding Iran could “repurpose” its criminal network in the UK away from targeting dissidents in order to attack Britons.
Kidnappings, sabotage, or attacks against national assets or embassies by Iran or its proxies are real possibilities if Britain gets involved.
Within Labour the decision to support Israeli-instigated military action stirs the concern – exacerbated by the Israeli treatment of the Gazans – into an electoral concern too. Pro–Palestinian candidates already took seats off Labour and nearly took more from senior party figures at the general election.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told Sky News on Sunday the US didn’t request British assistance in the attack, nor use of its base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. The potential use of that base by the US in strikes on Iran had raised concerns within the UK government about whether it complies with international law, with hideous parallels to the run-up to the Iraq conflict.
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Notwithstanding the spillover into attacks on British assets abroad, Iran could also retaliate by blocking the strategically important Strait of Hormuz or attacking the energy infrastructure of the Arab Gulf and drive up global oil prices. With UK inflation just under control, Starmer doesn’t need another assault on voters’ cost of living.
Although Starmer urged de-escalation, concerns persist that Britain might become indirectly involved in the war.
But skilled leadership is knowing when to step back as well as lean in. Starmer’s dilemma is whether to let Trump sort out the chaos of his own creation, even as he considers the very real threat Iran poses to the world order – and Britons at home.
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