Reform's Farage urges entry into war after UK bases not used in strikes on Iran
British opposition parties have urged the Labour government to join the US and Israeli attack on Iran after it emerged that British bases were not used in the initial strikes.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office official told Middle East Eye that the British government had been informed of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Friday afternoon.
On Saturday morning, the government confirmed that the UK had not participated in the attacks.
Government officials are monitoring the unfolding war in Whitehall, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer chaired a meeting of the emergency Cobra committee, attended by ministers, military leaders and intelligence specialists.
However, opposition politicians have begun clamouring for the UK to enter the conflict.
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Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, wrote on X: "The Prime Minister needs to change his mind on the use of our military bases and back the Americans in this vital fight against Iran!"
The Prime Minister needs to change his mind on the use of our military bases and back the Americans in this vital fight against Iran!
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) February 28, 2026
Reform MP Nadhim Zahawi added that the UK should change course and offer the US "our full support with this operation".
"I also hope that we have made all of our resources in the region available to our key allies like the UAE," he said.
"If not, it is a complete derogation of our international responsibility and a huge failure of leadership."
UK avoids criticising US or Israel
Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservative Party, said: "I stand with our allies in the US and Israel as they take on the threat of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its vile regime.
"The same regime that carries out attacks on the UK and on our citizens, that seeks to build nuclear weapons that would threaten our country and that brutally repressed pro-democracy protests only months ago and murdered thousands of its own people."
Last week, it was reported that Starmer had refused permission for British airbases in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean or RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire to be used as launchpads for an attack on Iran.
However, earlier this week, 11 F-22 Raptors reportedly took off from RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, supported by seven aerial refuelling tankers, and landed at Ovda Airbase in Israel’s Negev desert.
The Labour government has avoided criticising the US and Israel for the strikes while warning Iran against attacking British bases.
A UK government spokesperson said: “Iran must never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and that is why we have continually supported efforts to reach a negotiated solution.
"Our immediate priority is the safety of UK nationals in the region and we will provide them with consular assistance, available 24/7.
The spokesperson added: "As part of our longstanding commitments to the security of our allies in the Middle East, we have a range of defensive capabilities in the region, which we have recently bolstered. We stand ready to protect our interests.
"We do not want to see further escalation into a wider regional conflict."
'Ill-advised and illegal'
Emily Thornberry, a senior Labour MP and chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, which scrutinises the government's foreign policy, said: "I am pleased to see the UK is not involved in these strikes on Iran. They are ill-advised and illegal.
"We will be hit by the consequences though and need to prepare for chaos in the region, with shipping lanes, oil facilities and military bases (including our own) being attacked."
Britain’s most direct route into the conflict would be through the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia in the Chagos Archipelago, which puts US bomber aircraft within 5,300km of Iran and would allow them to strike the Islamic Republic while avoiding Gulf airspace.
However, the British government would have to sign off on any US deployment from the base to attack Iran.
If Washington asks the Starmer government for permission to use the base for an attack, Starmer would be expected to seek advice from Jonathan Powell, his national security adviser, who was Tony Blair's chief of staff when Britain invaded Iraq in 2003.
Chris Doyle, the chair of the Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding, said: "The UK and other European states would be wise to stay out. They were excluded from the talks.
"They were excluded from the plans for this war. If they join, they would have zero input into how the war was conducted, and what brings it to an end."
Meanwhile, Green Party MP Ellie Chowns described the strikes as "irresponsible, provocative and illegal".
She said that "Starmer must call out these so-called ‘allies’ - who are acting as rogue states - and use all UK levers to uphold international law".
Former Labour leader and Your Party MP Jeremy Corbyn said: "Peace and diplomacy was possible. Instead, Israel and the United States chose war." He called on the Labour government to condemn "this flagrant breach of international law".
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