{"id":801567,"date":"2026-03-03T16:37:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T16:37:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/801567\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T16:37:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T16:37:19","slug":"clarity-sought-on-whether-aircraft-used-in-iran-operations-stopped-in-scotland-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/801567\/","title":{"rendered":"Clarity sought on whether aircraft used in Iran operations stopped in Scotland \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Scottish Government has asked the UK Government if any military aircraft used in operations in Iran had stopovers in the country.<\/p>\n

Speaking in the chamber on Tuesday External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson confirmed the Government is seeking clarity that no aircrafts passing through Scotland have been involved in US-Israeli offensive operations in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

He said that some Scottish airports are regularly used as an \u201cimportant stopover point\u201d for air forces.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cGlasgow Prestwick Airport and some Highlands and Islands airport limited airports are an important stopover point for many air forces including the UK\u2019s Royal Air Force and other Nato partners such as the United States, and have been for many years.<\/p>\n

\"Lisa<\/a>\"Afghanistan<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is in line with UK law, international aviation standards and long-standing agreements between allied nations. Prestwick is a civilian facility, and there are, of course, a plethora of military bases available to the United States and the Middle East.<\/p>\n

\"AngusAngus Robertson told the chamber the Scottish Government is seeking clarification form the UK Government on the issue (Andrew Milligan\/PA) <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have no information on whether any aircraft that passed recently through Scotland or whatever nation were involved in operations against Iran. That said, we believe it is essential that all nations abide by the international rules-based system. The events in Iran over the last few days, do not suggest to us that the United States and Israel have done this.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is also the case that the UK Prime Minister has said that UK military bases must not be used in US or Israeli offensive operations against Iran. The same must apply to non-military bases. We are therefore seeking clarity, not least from the UK Government, that no aircraft passing through Scottish Government-owned airports are part of offensive operations against Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Monday Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer defended his decision not to allow the US access to UK bases for its initial strikes \u2013 a position which has since been reversed following pressure from Washington and states in the Gulf.<\/p>\n

US President Donald Trump said he was \u201cvery disappointed\u201d with the initial decision, but Sir Keir told the Commons on Monday he had a \u201cduty to judge what is in Britain\u2019s national interest\u201d.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the Press Association on Monday, John Swinney voiced his concern over the intervention, but stopped short of saying he considered it illegal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m deeply concerned by the events in the Middle East over the weekend and I bear no warmth towards the Iranian regime,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it is an oppressive and a repugnant regime, but when I look at the events of the last few days, it becomes ever more clear to me that the United States and Israeli action, the original action, is not compatible with the international rules-based system.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a consequence of that, the United Kingdom now finds itself getting dragged into this conflict \u2013 an illustration of how quickly these events can escalate from their original foundations \u2013 and that\u2019s deeply concerning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said the Conservative Party supports the US decision to launch attacks in Iran.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the Press Association on Tuesday, he said: \u201cThe Conservative Party backs the United States. They are our strongest and most reliable ally. We will support them, and that\u2019s something that we should see happening.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what we need to see happening in the Middle East is a favourable outcome for the people of Iran and long-term security and stability in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n

The UK Government has declined to comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Scottish Government has asked the UK Government if any military aircraft used in operations in Iran had…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":801568,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5009],"tags":[41591,748,228761,4884,774,837,285,712,11312,16,15,978],"class_list":{"0":"post-801567","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scotland","8":"tag-angus-robertson","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-glasgow-prestwick-airport","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-iran","13":"tag-israel","14":"tag-politics","15":"tag-scotland","16":"tag-scottish-government","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom","19":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116166227102049563","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=801567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801567\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/801568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=801567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=801567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=801567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}