The foreign secretary Yvette Cooper has condemned “reckless” attacks by Iran that threaten British interests and allies after missiles were fired at the joint US-UK Diego Garcia military base.
The government said RAF jets and other UK military assets were continuing to “defend our people and personnel in the region” hours after ministers gave Donald Trump the green light to use British bases to strike Iranian missile sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz.
But Sir Keir Starmer confirmed on Saturday that it would not include RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus, saying Cyprus’ security “was of the utmost importance to the UK” after an international row over its use and a call by President Nikos Christodoulides for discussions of the base’s future.
Ms Cooper denied the UK had been dragged into the war, saying “we will not be drawn into a wider conflict” after Downing Street earlier said any such action to protect the waterway, which is crucial to the world’s oil supply, would still amount to “collective self-defence”.
Hitting out at “reckless Iranian threats”, Ms Cooper said: "Our approach to this conflict has been the same throughout."We were not and continue not to be involved in offensive action, and we've taken a different view from the US and Israel on this.”
Iran reacted angrily to the UK’s move to allow the use of its bases, with foreign minister Abbas Araghchi posting on X, formerly Twitter, that Sir Keir was “putting British lives in danger by allowing UK bases to be used for aggression against Iran. Iran will exercise its right to self-defence”.
It is understood that Iran’s unsuccessful targeting of Diego Garcia, on the Chagos Islands, came before Friday’s announcement on bases. But Iran had previously warned the UK that it risked being in the firing line because of its support for Mr Trump’s war.
On Saturday night, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said the attack was the first time Iran had used intermediate-range ballistic missiles that, it said, could reach 4,000km. “We have been saying it: The Iranian terrorist regime poses a global threat. Now, with missiles that can reach London, Paris or Berlin,” it said on social media.
General Sir Richard Barrons, a former director of operations for the UK armed forces, warned that Iran’s attacks on the UK’s interests and allies meant “we may not have wanted to get involved but, now we are involved”.
Sir Richard told the BBC’s Today programme: “Iran and the UK have been at odds for a very long time … [They] regard the UK as an enemy, so if you are seen to participate in some fashion with this US-Israeli offensive action, then they are clearly going to respond. We should not be surprised by that.”
He also warned that the latest attack suggested Iran was able to hit targets much farther away than the international community realised. “Previously, we thought Iran's missiles had a range of 2,000km, and Diego is 3,800km from Iran,” he said.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the UK was being “dragged into” the Iran conflict “whether we like it or not” as she called on the PM to “immediately come clean about the details of this latest attack on British troops and explain why the public weren’t informed sooner”.
She also criticised Sir Keir for not backing the US to carry out further strikes earlier, saying: “He's basically sat on the fence, hoped it would go away, and then when the news looks like it's negative, he pretends that he actually made a decision. We didn't start this war. But if there is any war between the US and Iran, we should never be on the side of Iran. It's a hostile country that tries to carry out terror plots on UK soil.”
"The sad thing is, whether we like it or not, we're being dragged into it and what we need is a prime minister who can think ahead,” she told Times Radio.
Asked if she would have backed British planes taking part if she were prime minister, Ms Badenoch said: "I wouldn't have joined in the initial strikes, no, but I would have expressed solidarity with the US, like the Canadians and the Australians did."
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson condemned the latest escalation in the conflict, saying: “Iran’s reckless attacks, lashing out across the region and holding hostage the Strait of Hormuz, are a threat to British interests and British allies.
“RAF jets and other UK military assets are continuing to defend our people and personnel in the region. This government has given permission to the US to use British bases for specific and limited defensive operations.”
Tehran fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia, but neither hit, the Wall Street Journal and the semi-official Iranian news agency Mehr reported. One of the missiles was shot down by a US warship, while the other failed in flight, according to the newspaper, which cited multiple officials.
The escalation of the Iran war has also sparked a row at home, with former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell, as well as the Greens and the Lib Dems, calling for a vote in parliament against the use of UK bases.
Meanwhile, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog has called for military restraint to “avoid any risk of a nuclear accident” following reports that Iran’s Natanz nuclear site was targeted in strikes.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement on X that it had been informed by Tehran that the site “was attacked today”.
Iran's official news agency, Mizan, said there was no leakage after the strike on the Natanz nuclear facility, nearly 217km southeast of Tehran. Israel’s military said it was “unaware” of a strike on the facility.
On Saturday, Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz, warned of an upcoming surge in attacks on Iran. In a video statement, Mr Katz said "the intensity of the attacks" by Israel and the US would "increase significantly". He spoke shortly after fragments from an Iranian missile slammed into an empty primary school near Tel Aviv.
It comes after President Trump on Friday said he was considering “winding down” the war with Iran, as he told countries that use the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane that they must “guard and police” it themselves.
Despite the president’s comments, the White House confirmed the administration was considering putting troops into Iran’s Kharg Island, which holds around 94 per cent of the country’s crude oil for export and is its main oil export terminal.
In response to questions about boots on the ground, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said: “It’s the job of the Pentagon to make preparations in order to give the commander in chief maximum optionality.”
Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of the G7 countries said on Saturday that they stood ready to take necessary measures to support global energy supplies.
More than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran during the war. In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian missiles and four have died in the occupied West Bank. At least 13 US military members have been killed, along with civilians in Gulf nations.
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