Exclusive: UK privately says attacks on nuclear facilities not illegal
The British government has carefully refused to publicly reveal whether it supported the US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday, and even whether it deems the attack to be lawful.
On Monday morning in an interview with BBC Radio 4, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy repeatedly declined to say whether he believed the US strikes were legal.
Now diplomatic sources with knowledge of the matter have told Middle East Eye the UK's private stance is that attacks on nuclear facilities are not illegal and should not be banned by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
"The UK has taken the view that attacks on nuclear facilities are not by themselves illegal," said one diplomat at the UN with knowledge of the matter who asked to remain anonymous.
"This has put it at odds with the approach of most UNSC member states, which oppose such attacks outright."
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Another diplomat with knowledge of the matter, also speaking on condition of anonymity, told MEE: "Most Security Council member states take the view that strikes on nuclear facilities should be prohibited, but Britain opposes that.
"The British view is that these attacks are not illegal in and of themselves, and so they shouldn't be prohibited. This is the position conveyed to diplomats but it isn't said in public statements."
One diplomatic source confirmed this but stressed that "while it may be a minority position in the Security Council, it isn't a unique view and the Russians take the same approach, although they've criticised this particular US attack."
MEE asked the Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence to confirm whether the UK believes that attacks on nuclear facilities are not illegal.
The Foreign Office did not respond directly but pointed MEE to Lammy saying on Monday morning that "questions of legality are for the Americans to discuss themselves".
"We wanted to get the Iranians back to the table, there is still an off-ramp. I was discussing that with the Iranian foreign minister on the phone yesterday."
The Foreign Office also denied Iranian reports that Lammy expressed regret over the US strikes to his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, in a phone call on Sunday.
'Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon'
After the US strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities - Fordow, Nantaz and Isfahan - which the UK did not participate in, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on X that "Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and the US has taken action to alleviate that threat."
Notably, Starmer stopped short of endorsing the attack. "We call on Iran to return to the negotiating table and reach a diplomatic solution to end this crisis," he said.
The Security Council met on Sunday to discuss the US strikes, which UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said "marked a perilous turn".
Guterres said at the meeting: "We must act – immediately and decisively – to halt the fighting and return to serious, sustained negotiations on the Iran nuclear programme."
The UK's permanent representative to the UN, Barbara Woodward, echoed Starmer in her public statement at the meeting, saying that the US "took action last night to alleviate" the "serious threat" of Iran's nuclear programme.
"My prime minister has been clear," she added.
"We urge Iran now to show restraint, and we urge all parties to return to the negotiating table and find a diplomatic solution, which stops further escalation and brings this crisis to an end."
Pakistan announced on Sunday that it would present along with Russia and China a joint UNSC resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Middle East.
The draft resolution condemns the US attack on "peaceful nuclear sites and facilities under the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] safeguards in the Islamic Republic of Iran".
Britain is unlikely to vote in favour of the resolution.
The Starmer government is attempting to perform a delicate balancing act in softly endorsing the outcome of the US attack on Iran while refusing to explicitly express support for the strikes themselves.
When Israel launched its first wave of attacks against Iran, the UK was quick to announce that Britain played no role in the offensive or in helping to defend Israel against the retaliatory Iranian drone attacks, in contrast to previous episodes.
Starmer has consistently made it clear that his government has no appetite for entanglement in the conflict, and is instead bent on promoting diplomacy.
UK-Israel relations are increasingly strained, particularly after Britain sanctioned Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir nearly two weeks ago.
Last week it was reported that Attorney General Richard Hermer, the UK government's top legal adviser, privately raised questions over whether Israel's bombing in Iran, which has killed at least 430 civilians, was lawful.
Hermer reportedly said the UK should not be involved in the conflict "unless our personnel are targeted".
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