Iran-US war latest: Trump lashes out after Nato rejects Strait of Hormuz demand while US embassy in Iraq attacked – UK Times

Sir Keir Starmer says the UK is working with allies on a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz but will not be dragged into Donald Trump’s “wider war” on Iran.

The prime minister confirmed he is talking with other countries, including European allies as well as Canada’s Mark Carney in Downing Street on Monday, about military involvement to keep the straits open amid fresh warnings of soaring prices and fuel rationing in Britain.

But he insisted the UK would not join Israel and the US in launching offensive strikes Iran. He also did not commit to sending warships to the strait, as requested by President Trump on the weekend, a move which could escalate the crisis.

Donald Trump has lashed out at the UK for not actively supporting America’s mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Mr Trump had called for the UK and other countries to send warships to help secure the Strait of Hormuz and claimed Nato faces a “very bad” future should its member states fail to help.

The US leader said Monday he was “not happy” with Britain and was left “very surprised” by Sir Keir Starmer’s unwillingness to involve Nato in the conflict against Iran.

“I was not happy with the UK”, he said. “I think they’ll be involved maybe, but they should be involved enthusiastically”.

Sir Keir Starmer had said that the battle for the Strait of Hormuz “won’t be and it’s never been envisioned to be a Nato mission”.

President Donald Trump was warned that attacking Iran could trigger retaliation against US Gulf allies, despite his claims that Tehran’s response came as a surprise, a US official and two sources familiar with US intelligence reports said.

Pre-war intelligence assessments did not say Iran’s response was guaranteed, but it was “certainly on the list of potential outcomes”, one source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The president said twice on Monday that Iran’s retaliatory strikes against Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait were unexpected, first making the remark at a Kennedy Center board meeting at the White House.

“They weren’t supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East,” he said.

“Nobody expected that. We were shocked.” Mr Trump’s assertion followed other administration claims that have not been backed by US intelligence reporting, including that Iran would soon have a missile capable of striking the US homeland and that it would need two to four weeks to build a nuclear bomb and would then use it.

Those allegations, along with warnings of an imminent threat posed by Iran to the US and its forces in the region, have been among the reasons cited by Mr Trump and some of his top aides to justify his decision to join Israel in launching airstrikes against Iran on 28 February.

Mr Trump was also briefed ahead of the operation that Tehran would likely seek to close the economically vital Strait of Hormuz, according to two other sources familiar with the matter.

When asked by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins about high gas prices, US Senator Rick Scott said Monday night local time that America has to destroy Iran’s “ability to kill us”.

“I want oil prices to come down, but guess what? I want this country to be safe”, the Florida Republican said.

When asked how long Americans should be prepared to pay high gas prices amid the Iran war, Scott said, “I have no idea how long this is gonna take, but the most important thing is we’ve got to destroy their ability to kill us”.

US President Trump claimed after the U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran began more than two weeks ago that Iran posed an “imminent” threat to the American people because of its “nuclear ambitions” and pursuit of “developing the long range missiles that can now threaten our very good friends and allies in Europe, our troops stationed overseas, and could soon reach the American homeland”.

Iraqi air defences reportedly intercepted a wave of drones over the US embassy in Baghdad, while a prominent hotel in the heavily fortified Green Zone was struck by a drone.

Iraqi security sources said that it was “the most intense assault since the attacks began”.The strike on Monday evening hit the top floor of Al-Rasheed Hotel, causing damage but no casualties, two Iraqi security officials told the Associated Press.

Security sources said that two Katyusha rockets had been intercepted that evening near the US embassy in the Green Zone.

Prior to the attack, the embassy had issued a fresh security alert to US citizens in Iraq, warning that “Iran-aligned terrorist militias have repeatedly attacked the International Zone” in central Baghdad.

European Union informal councils will resume in Cyprus in April and June, Cyprus Energy Minister Michael Damianos said Monday, according to Reuters.

Early on in the Iran war, a drone hit a British air base in Cyprus. The drone was reportedly believed by officials to be Iranian-made and launched by Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group backed by Iran.

EU meetings in March were either moved online or postponed after the attack in the Mediterranean country.

“Things are all back to normal”, Damianos said, per Reuters. “All informal councils to be held in ​Cyprus between April and ​June ⁠will be held in the normal way”.

The United Arab Emirates’ Fujairah government media office announced early Tuesday morning local time that a drone strike caused a fire in the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone,

The office confirmed there were no injuries reported and that officials are working to control the fire.

Afghan cricket player Rashid Khan has reacted to reported civilian casualties from Pakistani airstrikes.

“I am deeply saddened by the latest reports of civilian casualties as a result of Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul. Targeting civilian homes, educational facilities or medical infrastructure, either intentional or by mistake, is a war crime.

“The sheer disregard for human lives, especially during the holy month of Ramadan, is sickening and deeply concerning. It will only fuel division and hatred.

“I call upon the UN and other human rights agencies to thoroughly investigate this latest atrocity and hold the perpetrators to account. I stand with my Afghan people in this difficult time. We shall heal, and we will rise as a nation. We always do. Inshallah!”, Khan wrote on X.

Hamdullah Fitrat, Afghanistan’s deputy government spokesman, claimed on X early Tuesday morning local time the Pakistani military had killed at least 400 people in an airstrike on a drug addiction hospital.

Pakistan has insisted its strikes against Afghanistan did not hit any civilian areas, per the Associated Press.