UK approves US use of British bases to strike Iran missile sites targeting ships

LONDON — The British government gave authorization on Friday for the United States to use military bases in Britain to carry out strikes on Iranian missile sites that are attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz .

British ministers met on Friday to discuss the war with Iran and Iran’s blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, according to a Downing Street statement.

“They confirmed that the agreement for the U.S. to use U.K. bases in the collective self-defence of the region includes U.S. defensive operations to degrade the missile sites and capabilities being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz,” the statement said.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said this week Britain would not be drawn into a war over Iran. He initially rejected a U.S. request to use British bases for the strikes on Iran, saying he needed to be satisfied that any military action was legal.

But Starmer modified his stance after Iran conducted strikes on British allies across the Middle East, saying that the United States could use RAF Fairford and Diego Garcia, a joint U.S.-U.K. base in the Indian Ocean.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked Starmer since the conflict started, complaining he was not doing enough to help him.

On Monday, Trump said there were “some countries that greatly disappointed me” before he singled out Britain, which he said had once been considered “the Rolls-Royce of allies.”

The Downing Street statement on Friday called for “urgent de-escalation and a swift resolution to the war.”

Opinion polls in Britain suggest widespread skepticism about the war, with 59% of those surveyed by YouGov saying that they were opposed to the U.S.-Israeli attacks.

伦敦——英国政府周五授权美国使用英国境内的军事基地对在霍尔木兹海峡袭击船只的伊朗导弹基地进行打击。

据唐宁街发表的声明，英国大臣们周五举行会议，讨论与伊朗的战争以及伊朗封锁霍尔木兹海峡的问题。

声明称：“他们确认，美国利用英国基地进行该地区集体自卫的协议包括美国开展防御行动，以削弱用于攻击霍尔木兹海峡船只的导弹基地和能力。”

英国首相基尔·斯塔默本周表示，英国不会卷入伊朗战争。他最初拒绝了美国使用英国军事基地对伊朗发动空袭的请求，称他需要确信任何军事行动都是合法的。

但伊朗对英国在中东的盟友发动袭击后，斯塔默改变了立场，表示美国可以使用英国皇家空军费尔福德基地和位于印度洋的美英联合基地迪戈加西亚岛。

自冲突开始以来，唐纳德·特朗普总统多次抨击斯塔默，抱怨他没有为他提供足够的帮助。

周一，特朗​​普表示“有些国家让我非常失望”，之后他特别提到了英国，称英国一度被认为是“盟友中的劳斯莱斯”。

唐宁街周五发表声明，呼吁“紧急缓和局势，迅速解决战争”。

英国的民意调查显示，民众普遍对这场战争持怀疑态度，YouGov 的一项调查显示，59% 的受访者表示反对美国和以色列发动的袭击。