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Keir Starmer has signalled support for Donald Trump’s aggressive approach towards Iran, saying it is vital the Iranian leadership is not able to develop nuclear weapons.
While the prime minister did not comment directly on the idea of possible new US military strikes on Iran, he said allies needed to face up to the nuclear issue and “deal with” the deadly repression of anti-government protests.
The US president has warned Iran it must end its nuclear programme and stop killing protesters if the large US armada of warships deployed in the Middle East is not to be used against them.
Starmer’s words during a visit to China on Friday were deliberately guarded, and No 10 officials said he would not comment on hypothetical future US strikes, but they are likely to be seen by some as a tacit endorsement of Trump’s bellicose attitude to Tehran.
“The goal or the aim here is that Iran shouldn’t be able to develop nuclear weapons and that is hugely important and, of course, we need to deal with the fact they are repressing protesters, killing protesters,” Starmer told the BBC during a series of broadcast interviews in Shanghai.
“It is grotesque what is happening so that is where our focus is and we are working with allies to that end,” he said.
Pushed on whether Britain would support any more US strikes on the country, he said: “I am saying we support the goal and we are talking to allies about how we get to that goal.”
On Wednesday, Trump hinted strongly that the US could attack Iran again if there were no talks on the country’s nuclear programme. In June last year, the US struck three sites in Iran connected to nuclear facilities, but it is not clear how much damage was achieved.
As a fleet headed by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln headed to the region, Trump said the military force was “prepared to rapidly fulfil its missions with speed and violence if necessary”.
He wrote: “Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal – NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS – one that is good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly of the essence!”
Quizzed in a separate interview by Sky News about whether Trump was acting appropriately, Starmer again avoided the question, saying: “The big issue, the big challenge here is to ensure that Iran doesn’t get a nuclear programme. We’re all absolutely agreed on that and we’re working with allies to that end.”
Pushed again on Trump’s actions, he said: “We all agree that ensuring that Iran doesn’t get that nuclear programme is a number one priority. And, that’s what we’re working on.”
Many thousands of people are believed to have been killed by Iranian authorities, with estimates made harder by the country’s internet and communications shutdown.
On Thursday, the EU listed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation. Yvette Cooper, the British foreign secretary, has promised to draw up legislation to be able to proscribe state organisations such as the IRGC without having to designate them as a terrorist organisation under existing laws.
