Nigel Farage has sparked controversy by claiming Iran “potentially poses a bigger danger than Putin poses to us”, despite Russia’s nuclear arsenal and invasion of Ukraine. The Reform UK leader made the remarks in a New Statesman interview, further fuelling questions about his stance on Russia.
Farage, who supported the US war on Iran from the start, saying the “gloves need to come off”, was accused of a U-turn on Tuesday after stating: “If we can’t even defend Cyprus, let’s not get ourselves involved in another foreign war.” In the interview, conducted during a Florida visit where he met Trump administration members but failed to see the president, he defended his position: “Iran’s a genuine threat to the world … If the result of this is that it stops Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, it would have been worth it.”
Farage has long faced criticism for his views on Russia, having previously admired Putin as a political operator and warned against “poking the Russian bear”. After backlash, he wrote in the Daily Telegraph that Putin’s invasion was “immoral, outrageous and indefensible” but added that without means or will to confront him, “poking a bear is obviously not bad foreign policy”. Labour has accused him of “parroting” Kremlin lines.
On defence, Farage said his message to the Trump administration was to “stick firm” on Diego Garcia, and that Reform would take a “very different approach”. He claimed White House contacts told him UK military respect is now “down to just special forces”.
Farage also revealed he offered to be a back-channel to the White House for Keir Starmer, but received no reply. He said: “I know a lot of this administration … if you need my help in any way at all, I will do it under the radar.” Previous attempts under the Conservative government also failed.
