Read below my response to constituents on the US/Israeli strikes on Iran and the ongoing conflict in the region.
With at least 1,000 people killed so far in Iran including at least 175 children, plus many more in countries across the region, I understand the despair of many of my constituents.
I also share in the strength of feeling around the world regarding the damage already done and the danger that continued military confrontation would pose to civilian life, regional stability and global security.
The escalating violence we have seen over the past week has caused a lot of shock and concern. This US military intervention is the latest in a growing line of unprecedented impositions in various forms on not only individual countries (such as Venezuela, Cuba and Greenland) but on both global security and international law. The foreign policy of the US under Donald Trump is simply international gangsterism.
I have already made it clear to the Prime Minister during Prime Minister’s Questions that I believe the US is not a reliable ally, and that we should attempt to unchain ourselves from Trump and seek closer ties with our European neighbours.
I totally and wholeheartedly condemn the joint US/Israeli attack on Iran. While I have absolutely no sympathy whatsoever with the Iranian regime – who have in recent months killed countless thousands of their own people to protect their fragile but brutal dictatorship – the attack was illegal, unjustified, and unnecessary.
You cannot drop regime change from the skies and the US’s own history in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and others shows it is very hard to achieve from the ground, too. We have seen this to be the case time and time again.
Donald Trump’s own administration patently does not have a plan to enact regime change in Iran, or indeed any plan at all, let alone a legal justification.
Because of this, I supported the Prime Minister’s initial decision NOT to allow the US use of British bases ahead of its strikes against Iran, including RAF Fairford here in Britain, and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
Britain did not choose this war, but it is now affecting our citizens regardless: an attack drone (most probably launched by Iran’s proxies Hizbollah from Lebanon) hit the RAF base at Akrotiri in Cyprus on Sunday, thankfully there were no casualties.
Simultaneously, our allies in the Gulf are under attack from Iran, and an estimated 300,000 British citizens are in the region, some of whom in cities which have suffered direct missile and drone fire. Iran has attacked some half a dozen countries in the region who were not part of the initial US/Israeli assault.
For this reason, the government has committed British military assets for defensive action outside of Iranian territory, that is to say anti-air and interception operations in defence of allies in the region – such as the shooting down of drones by the RAF over Jordanian airspace on Tuesday night.
On Sunday night, the Prime Minister went further and decided to allow the US to use British bases. The government has claimed this would only be for “specific and limited defensive purposes” to target missile launch sites.
It has argued this would be compliant with international law, because Iran is retaliating against UK allies and civilian targets. There is an argument that allowing US strikes on Iranian missile facilities could prevent casualties throughout the region, including British citizens.
I do not want escalating British involvement in an illegal war that we should have no part in. The allowing of US strikes from British bases could, in retrospect, be the first rung on this ladder. The US, as I have said, is not a reliable ally and we cannot necessarily trust any commitment to keep such strikes limited to ‘defensive’ action.
If our bases were to be used for anything more than defensive action, I would demand a vote in the House of Commons on this, and work quickly with colleagues to make sure this happens.
We should not be pulled blindly into this conflict and risk contributing to making things even more unstable, especially when the justifications being shared given to some US troops by officers are as crushingly hollow as “the war is god’s plan”.
The concerns from my constituents are also for UK nationals currently overseas, whether they be residents, holidaymakers, or businesspeople who are affected by the closure of airspace. I know there will also be vulnerable individuals with medical or other urgent needs, where concern will be even greater.
Over the weekend, the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) went into a crisis response. You can find the latest information from the FCDO here and call them on their 24/7 phone line +44 20 7008 5000 for UK nationals who have been impacted.
I am told by the FCDO that the situation on the ground may remain challenging for some time, and that across much of the region, airspace remains closed and the instruction of local authorities is for individuals to continue sheltering in place.
The FCDO are also sending Rapid Deployment Teams to key locations in the region to support UK nationals on the ground and say they are in close contact with the travel industry and governments in the region on looking at all options to support UK nationals.
A government charter flight from Oman is scheduled for Wednesday night (4 March), with more planned. There will be eight commercial flights leaving the United Arab Emirates also on Wednesday.
Please do not hesitate to let me know if there are any actions I can take for you on this issue, either on the bigger picture of UK foreign policy or supporting an individual constituent who is affected by this crisis.