Starmer Says Trump’s Iran Rhetoric Is Contrary to UK Values

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(Bloomberg) — UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Donald Trump’s rhetoric this week threatening to destroy Iran does not fit with British values, the latest public disagreement with the US president amid strained ties between the two nations.

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“Let me be really clear about this. They are not words I would use — ever use — because I come at this with our British values and principles,” Starmer told ITV in an interview when asked about Trump’s Truth Social post Tuesday warning Tehran to come to a deal or face dire consequences. 

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The remarks came before Starmer and Trump spoke by phone Thursday evening to discuss a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the key waterway that remains effectively shut despite the US-Iran ceasefire deal announced on Tuesday. 

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“The leaders discussed the need for a practical plan to get shipping moving again as quickly as possible,” according to a readout provided by Starmer’s office.

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Speaking on Times Radio on Friday morning, defense minister Luke Pollard reiterated the UK’s earlier position that it would not accept the US or Iran charging tolls for boats to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. 

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“Open for the UK means a freedom of navigation for all vessels and no tolls to pay, as Iran may be hinting at,” he said.

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The two transatlantic allies have had a string of public disagreements over trade, Greenland, the sovereignty of a joint UK-US military base in the Indian Ocean, and Trump’s attacks on Iran. 

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Since Starmer failed to grant the US the level of access they were seeking to British bases during the Iran conflict, Trump has fired a volley of insults at the British premier, saying he’s no Winston Churchill — a reference to Britain’s World War II leader — and appearing to liken him to Neville Chamberlain, the premier at the onset of that war whose name became synonymous with the appeasement of Adolf Hitler. 

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Before the US and Iran agreed on a ceasefire, Trump threatened to destroy the Islamic republic’s bridges and power plants. The president’s claim that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if Iran didn’t agree to his terms has been widely criticized as threatening war crimes. 

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“I’m clear that for the United Kingdom, we have our principles, we have our values. We will be guided by them in everything that we do,” Starmer said. 

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“That’s why I’ve said — and obviously it’s caused a degree of criticism and pressure in the last few weeks — I’ve been saying we are not going to be dragged into this war,” the premier added, referring to Trump’s repeated criticism of him for not expanding Britain’s role in the war beyond allowing US forces use of UK military bases for defensive operations.

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Starmer was speaking in Bahrain as part of a multi-country tour of the Middle East to shore up relations with Gulf partners and discuss next steps as the allies seek to restore shipping back to normal through the Strait of Hormuz. 

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Earlier, the British premier attended a meeting in Abu Dhabi of defense officials from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq and Egypt that was chaired by UK Chief of Defence Staff Richard Knighton. He reiterated that Iran must not hold the Strait of Hormuz “to ransom.”