The British government on Friday authorized the U.S. to use military bases in the U.K. to carry out strikes on Iranian missile sites accused of targeting ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
British ministers met earlier in the day to discuss the conflict with Iran and the disruption of shipping through the strategic waterway, according to a Downing Street statement.
“They confirmed that the agreement allowing U.S. use of U.K. bases for collective self-defense includes defensive operations to degrade missile sites and capabilities being used to attack vessels in the Strait of Hormuz,” the statement said.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, said on X that Prime Minister Keir Starmer was “putting British lives in danger” by permitting the use of U.K. bases for what he called aggression against Iran, adding that Tehran would exercise its right to self-defense.
Starmer said earlier this week that Britain would not be drawn into a war with Iran. He had initially declined a U.S. request to use British bases, saying he needed to ensure any military action was legally justified.
But the prime minister later modified his stance after Iran conducted strikes on British allies across the Middle East, saying the U.S. could use RAF Fairford and Diego Garcia, a joint U.S.-U.K. base in the Indian Ocean.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized Starmer since the conflict began, complaining he was not doing enough to help.
On Monday, Trump said there were “some countries that greatly disappointed me” before singling out Britain, which he said had once been considered “the Rolls-Royce of allies.”
The Downing Street statement on Friday called for “urgent de-escalation and a swift resolution to the war.”
Opinion polls in Britain suggest widespread skepticism about the war, with 59% of those surveyed by YouGov saying they opposed the U.S.-Israeli attacks.
