UK Prime Minister Opposes War Involvement but Stresses "Special Relationship" with U.S.

Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, maintained his opposition to the use of British military bases for the recent U.S. airstrikes on Iran, while stressing that the United States and the United Kingdom still share a special relationship.

Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Photo by AP Yonhap News.

On March 4 (local time), during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQ) in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Starmer explained his opposition to the use of British military bases for the U.S. airstrikes on Iran that took place on February 28, saying, "My position then, and still now, is that the United Kingdom cannot be drawn into war unless there is a legal basis and a feasible and prudent plan."

Donald Trump, President of the United States, has continued to criticize the Starmer administration's decision. On March 3, he asserted that Prime Minister Starmer is "not Winston Churchill." The late Prime Minister Churchill, an iconic figure of the postwar Atlantic alliance, was the first to use the term "special relationship" between the United Kingdom and the United States in a 1946 speech in the U.S., and the UK has consistently referred to the two countries as sharing a "special relationship" ever since.

Prime Minister Starmer emphasized that, following the U.S. airstrikes on Iran, the United Kingdom approved the use of British military bases for defensive purposes against Iran’s retaliatory strikes, highlighting this as evidence that the bilateral relationship is active. He stated, "U.S. fighter jets take off from British bases. British jets intercept drones and missiles from our joint bases to protect American lives in the Middle East. We share intelligence every day to keep our people safe. That is the special relationship in action."

Prime Minister Starmer added that there is no need to dwell on President Trump’s recent remarks.

According to the BBC, citing Western officials, the HMS Dragon is currently being loaded with ammunition and is scheduled to depart from Portsmouth next week.

Previously, the UK government initially denied the use of the joint U.S.-UK military base at Diego Garcia and the Royal Air Force base at Fairford, Gloucestershire, citing potential violations of international law. However, Prime Minister Starmer partially revised his position on the night of March 1, announcing that the Diego Garcia base would be permitted for "specific and limited defensive purposes."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.