"The UK should be taking a leaf out of Spain’s book and standing up strongly against bullies in defence of international law."
British campaign groups have warned Keir Starmer that Britain has become complicit in the US-Israeli attacks on Iran and that he must stand up to Trump and other “bullies” in defence of international law.
The US and Israel began bombing Iran on Saturday 28 February, killing the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the attacks. They also bombed a girls’ school, killing more than 160 children.
A poll of UK voters carried out by YouGov found that Brits are against the US and Israel’s attacks on Iran. Nearly half (49%) of voters said they oppose the US military action against Iran, compared to 28% who support the attacks.
Starmer has said the UK will not get involved in the attacks, which he has said have no “lawful basis”, but still gave the Trump administration permission to use RAF bases to launch strikes on Iran.
The PM justified this decision, saying that the British air base in Cyprus, RAF Akrotiri, had been attacked, and that allowing the US to use UK military bases was an act of self-defence.
The Ministry of Defence has now confirmed that the drone that hit RAF Akrotiri was not from Iran. It is believed to have been fired from Lebanon by Hezbollah.
Commenting on Starmer’s response to the US-Israeli attacks on Iran, Zoe Gardner, spokesperson for the Stop Trump Coalition, said: “Trump’s illegal war of choice is almost as unpopular in the UK as Trump himself – which is saying something. The UK should be taking a leaf out of Spain’s book and standing up strongly against bullies in defence of international law.”
Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister of Spain, has refused to give Trump access to Spanish military bases to carry out attacks on Iran. In a speech yesterday, he said “we must learn from history” and that “the Spanish government’s position can be summed up in four words: no to the war”.
Gardner added: “Iranians will not be bombed into democracy and we are rightly wary of the destruction, displacement and immense cost of another poorly planned US-led military campaign. The UK government should be deyankifying our defence capability so that it serves our safety, instead of lining the coffers of US private companies”.
Geoff Tibbs, Remembrance Project Manager at the Peace Pledge Union, said: “We, along with most people in the UK, US and elsewhere, condemn the US and Israeli aggression against Iran. Not only is this attack a flagrant breach of international law, founded on lies, it threatens to plunge Iran and the wider region into catastrophe.
Tibbs added: “We likewise condemn the attacks in response by Iran and Hezbollah, which have rapidly broadened the conflict, with scant regard for civilian life. We call for an immediate end to the violence. Civilians must be protected. All parties must commit to dialogue rather than entrench a cycle of violence that could continue for many years to come.”
He warned that the UK “is rapidly becoming complicit in this illegal and disastrous war”.
“Whilst Keir Starmer initially distanced the UK from the assault, British aircraft have been deployed over the region and British bases are being used for US military operations, risking Iranian retaliation.
“Starmer should be clear that this is an illegal and immoral intervention, in which the UK will play no part. Instead, the UK government is already shielding the US and Israel, just as it did during Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza.”
Lindsey German, founding member and convenor of Stop the War, said: “The special relationship is over. Trump wants a Reform government, not Starmer.
“It’s about time he woke up to that fact and broke with US foreign policy and the gangster running it by opposing this war.”
German said it was clear that this war is illegal, and that “even Starmer knows that”.
However, she said that by “assisting the US with bases and engaging in ‘defensive’ operations means Britain is complicit”.
She added: “That’s why Jeremy Corbyn’s bill demanding parliamentary oversight of the use of British bases for foreign countries’ wars is urgent and necessary.”
She urged everyone who opposes the war on Iran, which she said “is most people in this country”, to join Stop the War’s march from Westminster to the US Embassy this Saturday, or to participate in a demonstration in a city near them.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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