Iran has warned that British lives are in danger after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer granted the United States permission to use UK bases for strikes against Iranian missile sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz. The decision was made on Friday, March 20, expanding the previous agreement that restricted US forces to defensive operations only.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X that Mr Starmer was “putting British lives in danger by allowing UK bases to be used for aggression against Iran”. He added that Iran would “exercise its right to self-defence”. The warning came after reports that Iran had fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at the joint US-UK base on Diego Garcia, though neither missile struck the base.
The escalation follows weeks of conflict in the Middle East after US and Israeli strikes on Iranian sites on February 28. Iran retaliated by striking sites across the region. US President Donald Trump criticised the UK’s response as slow, saying “they should have acted a lot faster”. Mr Trump also stated that the Strait of Hormuz would need to be guarded by other nations, and that the US was considering winding down its military efforts against Iran.
