UK PM Keir Starmer is still playing both sides over the Iran war. Starmer attacked rivals over their “rush” to pull Britain into a new Western Asian quagmire. Evidently, he prefers a more lingering entry to the latest US imperial disaster.

Starmer said on 16 March:

Moments like this also tell you about leadership … Now, there are others who would have made a different decision two weeks ago.

He warned that the likes of Tory Party leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform UK head Nigel Farage:

would have rushed the UK headlong into this war without the full picture of what they were sending our forces into and without a plan to get us out. That’s not leading, it’s following. My leadership is about standing firm for the British interest. No matter the pressure.

He added:

I believe time will show that we have the right approach. Right on the economy and the cost of living. Right on defence and energy, and right on this war, in the best interests of the British people.

The glaring problem with these claims will be obvious to many: we are already at war with Iran. Read our full breakdown of UK involvement here.

Starmer — Ships, planes and drones

UK bases, ships and aircraft are already central to the US-Israeli war effort. Starmer has tried vainly to frame British involvement as purely ‘defensive’. Yet the UK is getting more deeply entangled by the day.

The US and Israel attacked Iran first on 28 February without provocation. Iran was offering unprecedented concessions in negotiations at the time. The Pentagon has since stated there was no imminent threat from Iran. And the UN’s atomic watchdog, the IAEA, has said there is no evidence Iran was developing a nuclear weapon on 11 March.

The first two weeks of the war have been disastrous. Esteemed international relations scholar and Israel lobby expert John Mearsheimer has described the situation in withering terms:

We’re not winning against Iran. We’re not winning. We’re sending a message that we’re a bunch of fools. That we started a war we can’t win. We didn’t have the required military forces to achieve any of the objectives that we were floating, and we had no plan.

Professor John Mearsheimer:

We’re not winning against Iran. We’re not winning.

We’re sending a message that we’re a bunch of fools. That we started a war we can’t win.

We didn’t have the required military forces to achieve any of the objectives that we were floating, and we… pic.twitter.com/41Aej2c5GW

— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 16, 2026

Trump’s desperation

US president Donald Trump is now desperate to re-open the strait of Hormuz — a vital oil channel predictably blocked by Iran within weeks of the war’s opening shots. The crisis is such that the International Energy Agency (IEA) has agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves.

The UK seems set to take part in re-opening the straits. Needless to say this would be a military operation — and an extension of Britain’s role in the war

One anonymous defence source told the Murdoch-owned Times:

one option under consideration was the use of autonomous minehunting drones operated by the Royal Navy’s Mine and Threat Exploitation Group, MTXG, which are currently in the region. It is not known how many of the drones are in service and which systems could be deployed.

This obviously would likely not be enough to open the strait, as Iran still possesses an arsenal of anti-ship cruise and ballistic missiles — as well as suicide drone-boats, like the ones recently used to target the 2 oil tankers off the coast of Iraq.

Energy secretary Ed Miliband told the BBC:

It is very important that we get the strait of Hormuz reopened. And we have already been talking with our allies, including the US, about this.

Adding:

There are different ways that we could contribute, including with mine-hunting drones. All of these things are being looked at in concert with our allies … Any options that can help to get the strait reopened are being looked at.

Britain’s entry to the war may be playing out in slow motion, but it is still playing out. The US leadership is currently flailing as its planned quick decapitation operation on 28 February was met with a ferocious response from Iran. The complete lack of a coherent plan should put anyone off taking part. Yet despite claims to the contrary, the UK is being drawn hook, line and sinker into a war which has little support among the British public and still lacks any sort of democratic mandate.

Featured image via the Canary

By Joe Glenton

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