Britain has authorized the United States to use its military installations for defensive airstrikes against Iran, marking a significant shift in London’s position as tensions across the Middle East continue to intensify. Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed the decision in a recorded video message, saying it came in direct response to a formal American request.
The authorization is described as having a specific and limited defensive purpose — targeting Iranian missile storage depots and launch sites used to fire weapons across the region. Starmer was careful to draw a clear line, stating that Britain would not be participating in offensive operations and had no intention of being drawn into a wider war.
The United States is expected to conduct operations from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and Diego Garcia, the British territory in the Indian Ocean. The strikes follow a joint American and Israeli campaign that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, prompting retaliatory missile and drone attacks against US bases in Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
Starmer acknowledged the weight of the decision, directly referencing the Iraq War. “We all remember the mistakes of Iraq,” he said, adding that those lessons had been learned. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reinforced that message, insisting the campaign was not open-ended. Six American service members have been killed since the operation began, the Pentagon confirmed.