The British Prime Minister has pledged to stay out of any offensive action against Iran and will refuse Trump access to British bases for his horror ‘Power Plant Day’ operation
Britain will refuse Trump access to British bases for his horror ‘four-hour’ obliteration of Iran.
Starmer will not allow the US President to use RAF bases for strikes on Iranian bridges or power plants, according to The i Paper.
Trump’s latest threat promises to unleash “Hell” on Iran’s key civilian infrastructure on Tuesday if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened.
The British prime minister has previously stated that American military access to UK bases must be restricted to the degrading of Iran’s defensive capabilities that could be used to threaten British interests or its allies in the Gulf.
US targeting bridges and power plants does not fall into this category and it is believed that access would be denied if Washington were to request it.
Trump has labelled Tuesday as “Power Plant Day”. It is understood that there has not yet been a request to use the RAF bases for any of these strikes.
Although Starmer has not changed his stance on the use of UK bases, refusal to allow Tuesday’s operation to be carried out from the spots could create further tension between Trump and himself.
According to some law experts, targeting civilian bridges and power plants would constitute a war crime.
The US President took a fresh swipe at Starmer on Monday, claiming the UK has a “long way to go” and comparing the PM to his predecessor who appeased Nazi Germany in the 1930s.
The President said: “We won’t want another Neville Chamberlain, do we agree? We don’t want Neville Chamberlain.”
Trump doubled down on his threat to target power plants and bridges. He added that he “won’t go further, because there are other things that are worse than those two.
“If I had my choice, what would I like to do? Take the oil. Because it’s there for the taking. There’s not a thing they can do about it.
“Unfortunately, the American people would like to see us come home. If it were up to me I’d take the oil, I’d keep the oil […] make plenty of money and I’d also take care of the people of Iran.”
A Ministry of Defense spokesperson said: “The UK authorized the United States to use British bases for defensive missions to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities, which are threatening British people, bases, and our partners in the region.
“The United States is using British bases for specific defensive operations to prevent Iran firing missiles into the region, which is putting British lives at risk. This is alongside the defensive action the UK is taking to protect British people across the region.
“We won’t be providing a running commentary on our allies’ operations, including their use of our bases.”
Starmer made an announcement on March 1 in which he gave permission for the US army to use bases in Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire. He explained: “The only way to stop the threat is to destroy the missiles at source – in their storage depots or the launchers which used to fire the missiles.”
He added that this was part of “the collective self-defence of long-standing friends and allies, and protecting British lives” and was “in accordance with international law”.
Britain will host a virtual conference on Tuesday of allied military officers to discuss plans for securing the Strait of Hormuz as Donald Trump’s deadline for Iran to reopen the waterway looms.
The US president has given Tehran until 8pm on Tuesday Washington time (1am on Wednesday UK time) to end its blockade of the strait or be bombed “back to the Stone Ages”.
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