LONDON: Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday defended his handling of the US-Israeli war against Iran after President Donald Trump launched a scathing attack over the British leader’s initial refusal to allow the Americans to use UK air bases.
“American planes are operating out of British bases. That is the special relationship in action,” he told parliament.
“British jets are shooting down drones and missiles to protect American lives in the Middle East on our joint bases. That is the special relationship in action, sharing intelligence every day to keep our people safe,” he said.
“Hanging on to President Trump’s latest words is not the special relationship,” he added.
Trump described the historical relationship between the US and Britain as “not like it used to be” in an interview published Tuesday.
Hours later he stepped up his criticism saying “this is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with.”
“The UK has been very, very uncooperative,” he said while seated next to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House.
“I’m not happy with the UK,” he said. “It’s taken three, four days for us to work out where we can land.”
Starmer — who told parliament on Monday his government “does not believe in regime change from the skies” — drew Trump’s wrath by initially refusing to have any role in Washington’s war with Iran.
He later agreed to a US request to use two British military bases for a “specific and limited defensive purpose.”
Starmer has cultivated a warm relationship with the unpredictable Trump, who was given an unprecedented second state visit to Britain last year.
The so-called special relationship between the World War II allies is largely built on long-standing defense cooperation and intelligence sharing.
But any potential military action in the Middle East is politically sensitive in the UK following former prime minister Tony Blair’s disastrous support for the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Starmer says US planes flying out of UK bases ‘special relationship in action’
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Starmer says US planes flying out of UK bases ‘special relationship in action’
- “British jets are shooting down drones and missiles to protect American lives in the Middle East on our joint bases,” Starmer said
- “Hanging on to President Trump’s latest words is not the special relationship”
Pakistanis fleeing Iran describe strikes shaking ground under their feet
- Nearly 1,000 students, businessmen and pilgrims have fled Iran since the war started out of a total 35,000 Pakistanis in the country
QUETTA: Pakistanis fleeing Iran described explosions and missile strikes across Tehran shaking the ground under their feet and engulfing buildings in fire and smoke in a city emptied of many of its residents. The conflict has widened sharply, with a US submarine sinking an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka on Wednesday and NATO air defenses destroying an Iranian missile fired toward Turkiye.
Governments have been scrambling to evacuate stranded citizens, with most of the region’s airspace closed due to the risk of missiles hitting passenger planes.
“I was in the classroom when a powerful explosion rocked our university building,” Hareem Zahra, 23, a student at the Tehran University of Engineering, told Reuters after crossing Pakistan’s land border with Iran.
“We saw thick smoke coming from many buildings on fire,” she said, adding Tehran was under attack until the moment she left.
TEHRAN LOOKED DESERTED
Nearly 1,000 students, businessmen and pilgrims have fled Iran since the war started out of a total 35,000 Pakistanis in the country, Mudassir Tipu, Pakistan’s ambassador to Tehran, said.
“There are now serious challenges. As you know there is no Internet in most parts of Iran,” he said. Iran has retaliated with a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting Israel and Washington’s allies in the Gulf, including Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, following US and Israeli air strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday.
Tehran has looked deserted since the conflict began, said Nadir Abbas, 25, a student of Persian literature at a university in the Iranian capital.
“I saw a drone hit a basketball court where six girl players lost their lives.”
Reuters could not verify his account.
DESTRUCTION EVERYWHERE
Islamabad is walking a diplomatic tightrope as it attempts to maintain warming ties with Washington while expressing solidarity with Iran.
Pakistan is home to the second-largest Shiite population in the world after Iran and being drawn into the conflict could lead to instability at home as well as complications evacuating its citizens.
“The first attack happened right next to my hospital,” said Sakhi Aun Mohammad, a student at Tehran University of Medical Sciences. After he reached the border, an Iranian friend called to check if he was safe, saying: “’Thank God, you have gone to Pakistan, all of you are safe, but your hostel has been attacked’.” A Pakistani diplomat who is still in Tehran said attacks took place every four or five hours, adding one missile struck a building next to his office. “At times you will feel as if something exploded right at your feet,” he said. “The last time I got out was at night. Buildings had collapsed, some others were on fire. There is destruction everywhere.”
He added: “It is almost like a ghost town.”
