Iran<\/a>\u2019s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi cautioned against Britain\u2019s involvement in Donald Trump\u2019s war<\/a> and criticised the \u201cnegative and biased approach of Britain\u201d in a phone call with the home secretary, Yvette Cooper.<\/p>\n He said the actions \u201cwill definitely be considered as participation in aggression<\/a> and will be recorded in the history of relations between the two countries\u201d.<\/p>\n In a chilling post written in Farsi on Telegram, Mr Araghchi claimed he told Ms Cooper: \u201cAt the same time, we reserve our inherent right to defend the country\u2019s sovereignty and independence.\u201d<\/p>\n But Downing Street defended the government\u2019s \u201cclear position\u201d, and insisted the UK is \u201cnot getting drawn into the wider war<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n The prime minister\u2019s official spokesperson said: \u201cSo our position is very clear. We didn\u2019t participate in the initial strikes, and we\u2019re not getting drawn into the wider war.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have authorised the US to use our bases for a specific defensive and limited purpose in response to Iran\u2019s continued and outrageous aggression, and we\u2019ve always said that this is the best way to eliminate the urgent threat and restore a path to diplomacy.\u201d<\/p>\n The row comes despite Sir Keir Starmer\u2019s attempts not to be drawn into the wider conflict in the Middle East, after he faced criticism for not joining the initial US-Israeli strikes on Iran.<\/p>\n The UK has since allowed US forces to use British bases<\/a>, including RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, to launch \u201climited and defensive\u201d missions targeting Iranian missile capabilities.<\/p>\n The prime minister has been forced to reject criticism from both opponents and allies that Britain had not acted fast enough when fighting broke out, and said that he \u201cstands by\u201d his decision not to join in the initial US-Israeli strikes on Tehran.<\/p>\n But the government later announced it would allow US forces to use British bases to launch missions against Iran, defending the decision as one that would protect British nationals and interests.<\/p>\n Former defence minister and soldier Tobias Ellwood<\/a> hit out at the Iranians, accusing them of trying to \u201crattle\u201d the UK. <\/p>\n Mr Ellwood told The Independent: \u201cIt\u2019s expected and designed to rattle us and sow division.\u201d<\/p>\n Housing secretary Steve Reed<\/a> defended Sir Keir\u2019s approach to the war, saying the prime minister has been \u201cvery measured in his approach to the conflict\u201d.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cHe took the decision, quite rightly, not to involve the United Kingdom in the initial attacks against Iran, but it is quite right that the UK should defend British nationals.\u201d<\/p>\n Government minister Emma Reynolds earlier insisted the government was \u201cabsolutely right to protect and defend\u201d the 300,000 British nationals currently in the Middle East.<\/p>\n The environment secretary told Sky News: \u201cBut we are also right not to be an active participant. For example, we were called on to provide basis for offensive attacks in Iran, and the prime minister refused to allow UK bases to be [used] on that basis.<\/p>\n \u201cWe haven\u2019t been dragged into this war, and we do want to see a de-escalation of this conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n She insisted the bases are \u201conly being used for defensive purposes\u201d, and pressed on the fact Iran was not making the same distinction, she said: \u201cWith respect, I\u2019m not on your programme to negotiate with the Iranian regime.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I\u2019m stating is the government\u2019s position, which is our UK bases are only being used by US or our allies to defend our own people in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n The warning comes as conflict continues to unfold across the Middle East, after the US has launched a fresh offensive to reopen the Strait of Hormuz after Iran blocked the passage of shipping vessels.<\/p>\n Washington has deployed low-flying jets and Apache helicopters to strike Iranian vessels and drones near the shipping lane as part of renewed efforts to reopen the passageway, currently under Iranian control.<\/p>\n The effective closure of the key oil route has driven fuel costs to soar globally, raising fresh concerns that energy prices in the UK could rise <\/a>by \u00a3300 in the summer<\/a>.<\/p>\n The prime minister has acknowledged the added cost of living pressures Britons are facing as many brace for energy bills to rise later in the year.<\/p>\n Mr Reed will meet local people and community leaders to discuss ministers\u2019 efforts to protect their finances on Friday.<\/p>\n Ahead of the visit, Sir Keir said: \u201cI know how much pressure rising costs can put on families here in the South East and beyond \u2013 especially when there is uncertainty on the global stage.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why this government is acting to protect household budgets, keep everyday costs down and provide reassurance at home \u2013 while listening directly to people about what matters most to them.\u201d<\/p>\n Sir Keir has said that the longer the conflict continues, \u201cthe bigger the impact on the cost of living\u201d, arguing that \u201cthe best way forward is a negotiated settlement with Iran\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":485906,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-485905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=485905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/485906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=485905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=485905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=485905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2266160647.jpg\")
The UK initially refused to allow US forces to use airbases, later retracting that, but only to allow \u2018limited and defensive\u2019 missions (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Donald](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2f751ebc05a53f47568becb9e59c71fcY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzczNzkyMzc4-2.81663003.jpg\")
Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his displeasure with Keir Starmer\u2019s reluctance to join his war on Iran (PA)<\/p>\n![\"Yvette](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/98b83c9f29a9edc27a6c4611c63b2bbcY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzc0MDE0OTMy-2.83782122.jpg\")
Yvette Cooper was told by Iran\u2019s foreign minister that the actions will be considered as \u2018participation in aggression and will be recorded in the history of relations between the two countries\u2019 (PA)<\/p>\n