UK Base Won’t Be Involved In Iran Operations – Starmer

United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer has told Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides RAF Akrotiri that his country would not be involved in US operations against Iran, a spokesperson for No 10 has said.

At the start of the war, Starmer agreed to allow US forces to use some British bases – RAF Fairford and Diego Garcia – for defensive operations to prevent Iran from firing missiles that put British interests or lives at risk.

He has since agreed to allow the US to use British bases to launch strikes on Iranian sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz.

According to the BBC, during a call with Christodoulides earlier, the prime minister reiterated that RAF Akrotiri would not be involved in the UK’s continuation of its agreement with the US to use UK bases in collective self-defence of the region, including for the degrading of Iranian missile capabilities.

“Discussing the economic impact of the ongoing conflict, the leaders agreed that de-escalation in the region was the priority.

“The leaders agreed to stay in close touch,” he said.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) yesterday claimed to have “pounded” air bases in Kuwait and the UAE which it said were used by the US and Israel.

IRGC Navy commander Alireza Tangsiri said on X that they hit the facilities of the two Al-Minhad and Ali Al-Salem air bases, the hangars, and the fuel depots of American-Zionist aircraft with a massive volume of ballistic missiles and suicide drones.

He claimed the bases were the origin of the aggression against Iran.