The United Kingdom approved allowing the United States to use British military bases to launch strikes on Iranian sites targeting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, Downing Street confirmed, in a significant
expansion of the terms under which US forces can operate from British soil.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had previously authorised US forces to use the bases only for defensive operations to prevent Iran from firing missiles that put British interests or lives at risk. The decision widens that remit to include protecting ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil shipping channel through which a significant share of global energy supplies passes. Downing Street said “the principles behind the UK’s approach to the conflict remain the same” and that the UK will not be directly involved in the strikes. Ministers also said they want “urgent de-escalation and a swift resolution to the war.”
A Downing Street spokesperson said ministers “agreed that Iran’s reckless strikes, including on Red Ensign vessels and those of our close allies and Gulf partners, risked pushing the region further into crisis and worsening the economic impact being felt in the UK and around the world.” 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 spokesperson added.
The UK bases being used by the US are RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. UK military planners have also joined the US Central Command to examine options for getting tankers through the strait, which has been effectively closed off by the threat of Iranian attacks in retaliation for the US-Israeli bombing campaign.
US President Donald Trump earlier called NATO allies “cowards” for refusing to offer warships to reopen the shipping channel, and claimed reopening the strait would be a “simple” military task with “little risk.”
The expansion comes after Iran’s foreign minister warned the UK that it views the decision to allow the US to use British bases as “participation in aggression.”
