OAN Staff Addie Davis
1:46 PM – Monday, March 2, 2026
United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Sunday that he has given permission to the United States if they so wish to use UK bases for Iranian missions.
In a few statements posted to X over the weekend and on Monday, Starmer said the U.S. will use the bases with the “specific and limited defensive purpose” of taking out Iranian missile capabilities by destroying missile storage depots and launchers.
Last month, President Donald Trump publicly requested permission for the U.S. to use specific UK-controlled military bases for potential strikes on Iran. He named two key sites, Diego Garcia, a joint U.S.-UK base in the Indian Ocean/Chagos Islands, and RAF Fairford, which is in Gloucestershire, England.
Although Diego Garcia is a joint U.S.-UK military base, the United States does not have unilateral ownership or full sovereign control over it. The island remains under the British administration and longstanding bilateral agreements require UK approval for certain U.S. military operations launched from there — especially offensive or preemptive strikes.
In a recorded statement, Starmer also made it clear that the UK had no role in the strikes on Iran and will not join in offensive action, noting that President Trump expressed frustration that the UK did not get involved with initial strikes.
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph, Trump said Starmer’s decision to allow the U.S. to use the bases was “useful” but “took far too much time,” according to Yahoo News.
Starmer explained further that Iranian retaliation has included firing upon countries that have not attacked the Islamic Republic. There are an estimated 300,000 UK citizens in the region and Iran has, so far, “hit airports and hotels where British citizens are staying,” Starmer continued.
He also brought up the fact that Iran has fired upon and hit military bases housing British personnel.
“The death of the supreme leader will not stop Iran from launching these strikes. Their approach is becoming even more reckless and more dangerous to civilians,” he added.
The basis of the decision was for the self-defense of friends and allies and the protection of British lives, according to the PM.
“Iran is pursuing a scorched earth strategy, so we are supporting the collective self-defense of our allies and our people in the region,” the prime minister went on.
The prime minister also noted past aggression by the Iranian regime against the UK, including backing more than 20 foiled attacks on UK soil in the last year alone.
The UK’s position has long been clear that the Iranian regime is “utterly abhorrent” and can never be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons, Starmer said. He stated his belief in a negotiated settlement to the conflict, emphasizing that Iran must give up its aspirations to develop a nuclear weapon.
UK jets are already in the air for defensive operations and have since intercepted Iranian strikes, but Starmer also claimed that “the only way to stop the threat is to destroy the missiles at source.”
At another point, the UK prime minister brought up the attack on the RAF Akrotiri base on Cyprus, specifying that there were no casualties. He explained that US. bombers are not using bases in Cyprus and that the attack was not in response to the decision, as the drone was assessed to have been launched before the announcement was made.
Repeatedly, the prime minister has maintained the decision is in accordance with international law. He also alleged that “France and Germany are also prepared to enable U.S. action to destroy Iran’s capability to fire missiles and drones from source.”
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