UK: Starmer says British military defended Israel during Iran attack
British forces were involved in defending Israel from Tuesday night’s missile attack by Iran, it has emerged.
Defence Secretary John Healey said: “British forces have this evening played their part in attempts to prevent further escalation in the Middle East.”
He did not give specific details, but the BBC has reported that UK fighter jets were involved - as they were during Iran’s last attack on Israel in April.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer was on the phone to his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, when Iran’s attack began.
The two had been speaking for about 15 minutes about whether Iran would fire missiles when Netanyahu was informed that Iran had begun an attack and had to leave the call.
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After Iran’s attack, Starmer said in a televised address that Iran “has menaced the Middle East for far too long, chaos and destruction brought not just to Israel, but to the people they live amongst in Lebanon and beyond.”
He said: “We stand with Israel and we recognise her right to self-defence in the face of this aggression,” adding that Britain supports “Israel’s reasonable demand for the security of its people.”
'Iran has menaced the Middle East for far too long'
- Prime Minister Keir Starmer
Notably, Starmer’s statement fell short of the support expressed for Israel by the opposition Conservative Party, with leader Rishi Sunak saying: “We stand unequivocally by Israel’s right to defend itself including against Hezbollah in Lebanon.”
As prime minister, Sunak had promised unequivocal support for Israel after the Hamas attack on 7 October last year.
By contrast, when Labour entered government in July it introduced multiple policies tempering British support for Israel’s war on Gaza, including restoring funding to Unrwa, the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, as well as dropping Britain’s objection to the ICC decision on issuing an arrest warrant for Israel.
Then, in September, the Labour government brought in a partial arms ban on Israel, suspending 30 out of 350 arms export licences to the country.
On Tuesday night, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy condemned Iran’s attack on Israel “in the strongest terms”, saying: “Today I warned Iran against taking action that could push the region further towards the brink.”
I completely condemn Iran’s attack against Israel. pic.twitter.com/V00WYVTWm9
— John Healey (@JohnHealey_MP) October 1, 2024
Conservative leadership candidate Tom Tugendhat called the Iranian attack “barbaric” and said he would be “praying for Israel”.
Rival candidate Robert Jenrick, widely seen as the frontrunner, described the attack as “unprovoked” and called for all support “necessary to win this war must be given to Israel so they can defeat the evil Iranian regime.”
James Cleverly, also a candidate, warned that Iran aims to “wipe [Israel] off the map”.
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