UK approves US use of British bases to strike Iran missile sites targeting ships

LONDON - The British government gave authorisation on March 20 for the United States to use military bases in Britain to carry out strikes on Iranian missile sites that are attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

British ministers met on March 20 to discuss the war with Iran and Iran's blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, according to a Downing Street statement.

"They confirmed that the agreement for the US to use UK bases in the collective self-defence of the region includes US defensive operations to degrade the missile sites and capabilities being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz," the statement said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a post on X that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was “putting British lives in danger by allowing UK bases to be used for aggression against Iran,” adding “Iran will exercise its right to self-defence.”

Mr Starmer said this week Britain would not be drawn into a war over Iran. He initially rejected a US request to use British bases for the strikes on Iran, saying he needed to be satisfied that any military action was legal.

But Mr Starmer modified his stance after Iran conducted strikes on British allies across the Middle East, saying that the United States could use RAF Fairford and Diego Garcia, a joint US-UK base in the Indian Ocean.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked Mr Starmer since the conflict started, complaining he was not doing enough to help him.

On March 16, Mr Trump said there were "some countries that greatly disappointed me" before he singled out Britain, which he said had once been considered "the Rolls-Royce of allies".

The Downing Street statement on March 20 called for "urgent de-escalation and a swift resolution to the war".

Opinion polls in Britain suggest widespread scepticism about the war, with 59 per cent of those surveyed by YouGov saying that they were opposed to the US-Israeli attacks. REUTERS