In a major policy shift, the UK has authorised the United States to use its bases for strikes on Iranian missile sites targeting ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The decision, confirmed by Downing Street on Friday, follows emergency talks among British ministers on the escalating war and Iran’s attempts to disrupt one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes.
In a clear endorsement of Washington’s military response, the government said the move falls under collective defence. “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.
The approval comes days after Prime Minister Keir Starmer had resisted a similar request, insisting he needed assurances that any action would be legally justified. He had also stressed that Britain would not be drawn directly into a broader war with Iran.
But Starmer changed 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 Starmer since the conflict started, complaining he was not doing enough to help him.
On Monday, 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 Friday called for “urgent de-escalation and a swift resolution to the war”.
Opinion polls in Britain suggest widespread scepticism about the war, with 59% of those surveyed by YouGov saying that they were opposed to the U.S.-Israeli attacks, according to Reuters.
