{"id":46275,"date":"2026-04-01T07:40:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T07:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/46275\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T07:40:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T07:40:09","slug":"iranian-ambassador-suggests-tehran-could-strike-british-bases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/46275\/","title":{"rendered":"Iranian ambassador suggests Tehran could strike British bases"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tehran is \u201cconsidering\u201d whether British bases <\/a>are legitimate targets in the unfolding Middle East conflict<\/a>, the Iranian ambassador to the UK has warned.<\/p>\n

The UK has been allowing the United States to use RAF Fairford <\/a>in Gloucestershire to launch operations against Iran<\/a> – something Seyed Ali Mousavi<\/a> described as being \u201cvery unfortunate\u201d.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Times Radio, he said: \u201cThe initial position made by prime minister Starmer is very good.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do appreciate [it], we do welcome the non-involvement in this criminal act of the American side and the Israeli regime.<\/p>\n

\"Iranian<\/p>\n

Iranian ambassador to the UK Seyed Ali Mousavi (PA Wire)<\/p>\n

\u201cBut unfortunately, now we have realised that the British Fairford military base has been serving for the B2 and B1, you know, jets of the American side to be equipped by the different weapons to use against the Iranian people. It\u2019s very unfortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked whether British bases and assets were legitimate targets for Iran, Mr Mousavi replied: \u201cThis is the very important matter we are considering. This is a very important matter for our self-defence.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added Iranian military authorities \u201cwill decide appropriately\u201d what course of action they will take, adding any final decision \u201cdepends on\u201d UK activities.<\/p>\n

Defence secretary John Healey told MPs last week the US has permission to use UK bases for defensive strikes against specific Iranian targets, including missile sites and capabilities which threaten shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

The government had previously only allowed the US to use British bases \u2013 including the one on Diego Garcia \u2013 to hit missile sites targeting British interests in the region.<\/p>\n

Missiles have previously been fired in the direction of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, but neither made it to the island.<\/p>\n

The latest warning from Iran comes despite Sir Keir Starmer on Tuesday ruling out putting British troops on the ground in Iran, as he insisted the UK will not be \u201cdragged in\u201d to Donald Trump\u2019s escalating war<\/a> in the region.<\/p>\n

\"Prime<\/p>\n

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer will give an update on the Iran war on Wednesday (PA Wire)<\/p>\n

The US sparked fears over the weekend that it is preparing to launch ground operations in Iran<\/a>, as fighting between Tehran and Washington continues into its second month.<\/p>\n

The prime minister has faced criticism from both allies and enemies over his approach to the conflict, but doubled down on his position on Monday when asked if British troops could be sent to the Middle East.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not our war and we\u2019re not going to get drawn into it,\u201d he said, adding the UK will continue to take defensive action and work to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we have done is taken defensive action: so we\u2019ve had our pilots up in the air since an hour or two after this war started, defending British lives, British interests and, of course, our allies in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n

It comes after US president Donald Trump piled criticism on London for what he described as \u201ca very late response\u201d to the escalating conflict.<\/p>\n

The prime minister will provide an update to the British public on the cost of living amid concerns over the amount energy bills could rise as a result of the conflict.<\/p>\n

Sir Keir is due to speak at a press conference later on Wednesday morning after he vowed to \u201cprotect the British people at home and abroad\u201d.<\/p>\n

Since fighting began in Iran, oil prices have soared in response to Tehran\u2019s block on tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, the chancellor said any support the government offers would be based on household income, but refused to commit to immediate support for drivers.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cI want to learn the lessons of the past because when Russia invaded Ukraine, the richest, the best-off third of households got more than a third of the support. That makes no sense at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added she had to be \u201ccareful\u201d with cuts to fuel duty or VAT on petrol because it risked pushing up inflation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tehran is \u201cconsidering\u201d whether British bases are legitimate targets in the unfolding Middle East conflict, the Iranian ambassador…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":46276,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[14414,19231,9595,8522,13802,38,34,19230,5068,3645,101,69,19232],"class_list":{"0":"post-46275","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tehran","8":"tag-ali-mousavi","9":"tag-british-bases","10":"tag-british-interests","11":"tag-british-troops","12":"tag-diego-garcia","13":"tag-donald-trump","14":"tag-iran","15":"tag-legitimate-targets","16":"tag-raf-fairford","17":"tag-starmer","18":"tag-strait-of-hormuz","19":"tag-tehran","20":"tag-the-uk"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116328321809837967","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46275\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}