Would UK follow Trump into a war with Iran?

Boris Johnson received news of the first major foreign policy challenge of his premiership while on holiday in the Caribbean. His initial response to the assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani on the order of US President Donald Trump was reportedly, a four-letter expletive. With his need to deliver on his election promise of “Get Brexit Done”, the UK prime minister needed being dragged into renewed conflict in the Middle East by its closest military ally, the US, like a bullet in the head. Little wonder then, as the drums for war beat from across the Atlantic, Johnson has been largely missing in action. He did not turn up at the first session of parliament this year on Tuesday when the growing crisis was discussed, nor has he made any public statements on the matter, raising criticism from the opposition benches. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace was left to field questions from angry MPs while the Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab sped off to Brussels to confer with the UK’s erstwhile allies in the European Union. Following the Iranian missile strike on military bases in Iraq early Wednesday housing Coalition troops, including British ones, Raab issued a condemnation, and urged Iran “not to repeat these reckless and dangerous attacks, and instead to pursue urgent de-escalation.” What’s Vladimir Putin up to as Donald Trump and Iran edge towards war? For Johnson, was this another bullet dodged, and was he correct in leaving the explanations to his ministers? Has it helped to “de-escalate” the situation? The US attack on the Iranian military leader was the first major foreign policy challenge for the new British government, and there appears to be a sense of relief at the so-far limited nature of the Iranian action. The UK is going to need good relations with Trump to forge a trade deal with the US after it has left the EU at the end of the month. For the same reason, it is also going to need good relations with China, which is standing by Iran, and the European Union, which will still be its closest and largest trading partner. Johnson will have no choice but to face a grilling from opposition MPs at PM’s question time on Wednesday following his first meeting on Brexit with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. He will likely be relieved of the limited nation of Iranian retaliation so far. Indeed, Johnson’s low profile may have been wise, helping to prevent more escalation, either by infuriating Iran, or Trump. What war powers does Donald Trump have? Johnson is no warmonger, and Trump’s unilateral action and subsequent tweet declaration he was prepared to destroy Iran’s significant cultural sites, unlikely to rub well with a man who, when still a journalist, made a rather good documentary on Islamic history and culture. The UK government has made clear it would not support such action, illegal under international law. “Further conflict is in no one’s interest,” Wallace told parliament Tuesday. “The only beneficiaries would be the terrorists and extremists – seeking to use the chaos as cover to advance their abhorrent objectives. So we are urging all people, all parties to de-escalate as soon as possible.” In his statement Wednesday, Raab reiterated a war in the Middle East would only benefit Islamic States (Isis) and other terrorist groups. UK security chiefs have already shown some alarm about the damage Brexit could inflict on the country’s inability to prevent terrorism, as it would reduce cooperation with EU security forces. That could get a lot worse if conflict is reignited in Iraq, birthplace of Isis, allowing extreme Sunni terrorism to mushroom. Soleimani killing: Japan sticks to warship deployment, as Shinzo Abe calls for diplomacy It was Europe, including the UK, and not the US, which suffered most from the spate of horrific terrorist attacks orchestrated by Isis. Like China and the EU, the UK government remains committed to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action to limit nuclear proliferation in Iran, currently hanging on a thread, even though the US has pulled out. Wednesday morning’s Iranian missile assault on military bases in Al-Asad and Irbil will make UK government pledges to protect its citizens in Iraq and Syria from any reprisals by Iran, even more imperative. The UK still has around 400 troops in Iraq as well as a thousand civilian personnel. British ships and helicopters have been placed on standby in the Middle East in case there is a further military escalation of the Iran crisis. Two warships, HMS Montrose and HMS Defender, have been sent to the Persian Gulf to protect international shipping lanes “making sure we do not provoke on Iranian coastline”. Donald Trump’s shadow secretary of defence: Mike Pompeo The unpredictability and confusion surrounding Trump’s foreign policy, may even help to bring the UK closer to the EU on matters of defence, despite Brexit. German and France are currently both mooting the possibility of the creation of a European Security Council of the bloc’s major economic powers and the UK. The fact the US failed to inform the UK in advance of its intentions to assassinate Soleimani, even though the UK is its strongest ally in the Gulf region, may help bring that to fruition. Mike Pompeo, US secretary of State, has accused European allies of not being “helpful enough”. Raab, the foreign secretary, is travelling to Washington later this week to try to repair the damage caused to the western alliance by the assassination and put pressure in the Trump administration to show more caution. Last year, when Iran seized a British-flagged oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May, tried to gather a European-led naval flotilla to protect ships as they sailed through the Strait of Hormuz. When Johnson replaced her in July, the initiative collapsed, and the UK joined a naval force led by the US. Germany and France declined to take part. But that was then, when Johnson was playing to English nationalists and Brexiteers to cement his power and needed the support of Trump to show “Global Britain” could become a force. Now, following December’s stunning election where he gained a comfortable majority of 80, he can afford to align himself more closely to the EU position on Iran, where he will certainly be more comfortable.

Would UK follow Trump into a war with Iran?

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} With Brexit happening this month, a conflict between Iran and US could not come at a worse time for UK PM Boris Johnson

With Brexit happening this month, a conflict between Iran and US could not come at a worse time for UK PM Boris Johnson