US President Donald Trump “seems intent on making the world more unsafe”, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has said.
The comments come after an expletive-laden social media post from the US leader threatening strikes on Iranian infrastructure if the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz continues.
Speaking to journalists on the campaign trail in Glasgow, Mr Sarwar hit out at the President.
“I think what’s clear from Donald Trump’s comments overnight and what’s clear actually from the outset of the Iran conflict, and ever since – he has no idea what he’s doing,” he said.
“He has no plan, he has no strategy, he has no exit strategy from that conflict and he risks putting the US into a quagmire and he risks destabilising an already unstable region even more – risking lives in the area and risking livelihoods right across the globe.
“It was an illegal war, he shouldn’t have done it and now it needs to stop and we need to get stability back into that region and into the global economy.”
He called for “international partners” to “apply pressure” on the US administration, adding: “It’s an unsafe world right now and, sadly, it seems that Donald Trump is intent on making it even more unsafe.”
The US-Israeli offensive in Iran has caused fuel and energy prices to spike, with governments around the world being forced to take action to protect consumers.
Asked if the Prime Minister should cut fuel duty, the Scottish Labour leader – who last month called for Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation – said “every option has to be on the table”.
He added that there have been “unintended consequences” caused by the war, including increased profits for oil and gas firms and higher prices at petrol stations – both of which would increase revenue flowing to the Treasury.
“Of course, if there are those receipts that are coming in, how that is used appropriately to support families through this crisis is going to be really, really important,” he said.
