Foreign Office says it has warned Iran against attacking UK bases

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has warned her Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi “against targeting UK bases, territory or interests directly”, in a phone call on Thursday, according to a statement from the Foreign Office.

This comes in response to comments made by the Iranian foreign ministry that Iran considers the UK’s decision to allow the US use of its bases as “participation in aggression”. 

The British Foreign Office insisted that “the defensive UK operations in the region were a response to the Iranian aggression against Gulf partners”, adding that “the UK wants to see a swift resolution in this conflict”.

Iranian attacks on Gulf states and US bases in the region followed the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, including hitting energy infrastructure in the South Pars gas field, which the British government has yet to condemn.