Britain, under pressure from President Trump to do more in the war against Iran, said Friday that American forces could use British bases to strike Iranian forces that are threatening ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Until now, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government had allowed British bases to be used by U.S. forces only to strike against Iranian missile launchers used to attack British bases and allies, but not for strikes to defend strait traffic.
“The agreement for the U.S. to use U.K. bases in the collective self-defense of the region includes U.S. defensive operations to degrade the missile sites and capabilities being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz,” the government said in a statement.
Mr. Starmer has vowed not to let his nation be drawn into the war with Iran, citing the lessons the country learned after helping the United States wage war against Iraq on what turned out to be deeply flawed intelligence assessments. Officials said British forces still would not take party in any attacks.
Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, said on Friday that allowing the United States to use British bases is “participation in aggression.” The statement came in a readout from Iran’s government of a call between Mr. Araghchi and Yvette Cooper, the British foreign secretary.
But Mr. Starmer is also trying to show he is taking action to counter rising gas and oil prices because the strait has been shut down. And he is struggling to maintain a productive relationship with Mr. Trump, who has repeatedly mocked him for not participating in the war.
“Unfortunately Keir is no Winston Churchill,” the president told reporters on Tuesday at the White House.
For Mr. Starmer, it is a tricky position. Polls suggest the British public is deeply opposed to playing a big role in another war in the Middle East. In remarks to Parliament this week, Mr. Starmer insisted that his decision to keep British forces out of the fighting was the right one.
“We will protect our people in the region,” he said. “We will take action to defend ourselves and our allies, and we will not be drawn into the wider war.”
The decision on Friday is likely to draw criticism from his critics for inching the country closer to participation in the war, pressure that’s been applied since the second night of the war when a British air base in Cyprus was hit by a drone. The strike caused little damage, but it caused a chaotic scramble that is still reverberating across Europe. France, Spain, Greece, Italy and the Netherlands sent warships to the waters around Cyprus for reinforcements.
Mr. Trump has chastised U.S. allies for not heeding his call to provide warships to escort commercial vessels through the strait.
Carlotta Gall contributed reporting.
Michael D. Shear is the chief U.K. correspondent for The New York Times, covering British politics and culture and diplomacy around the world.
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