Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has branded Israeli strikes on Lebanon as “wrong” and insisted they “should stop” as a fragile US-Iran ceasefire deal faces immediate peril.
His comments, made during a diplomatic visit to Gulf nations, highlight the strain on the two-week truce brokered by US President Donald Trump.
The bombardment of Beirut risks unravelling the agreement, which followed Mr Trump’s stark warning that “a whole civilisation will die tonight” – language Sir Keir personally vowed he would “never use”.
The Prime Minister also confirmed the UK is “monitoring” the use of its bases by Washington, ensuring deployment solely for collective self-defence, not offensive operations against Iran.
Sir Keir arrived in Bahrain on Thursday, as part of a regional tour including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Israeli attacks on the Hezbollah militant group made Wednesday the deadliest day in Lebanon since the conflict began, amid disagreement over whether the country was included in the ceasefire.
In response to the Israeli strikes, Tehran has again closed the key oil shipping channel, the Strait of Hormuz.
Despite escalating tensions, the Prime Minister admitted it was “hard to say” whether the strikes constituted a breach of the US-Iran ceasefire.
“We haven’t all got access to all the details of the ceasefire,” Sir Keir told ITV’s Talking Politics podcast in Bahrain.
“But look, let me be really clear about it – they’re wrong.”
Asked whether Israel was “wrong to be attacking in Lebanon now”, the Prime Minister replied: “Yes, that shouldn’t be happening.
“That should stop – that’s my strong view – and therefore, the question isn’t a technical one of whether it’s a breach of the agreement or not.
“The (question) is actually a matter of principles as far as I am concerned and, in a sense, my argument would be it should be included in a ceasefire and that’s the important part of the overall approach.”
