
Israel-Iran live: Trump says he 'may or may not' strike Iran - as Starmer calls emergency COBRA meeting
It's likely Sir Keir Starmer's government won't wade into the Middle East in defence of Israel, according to our experts.
Speaking in our live Q&A earlier this afternoon, our international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn said there were some roles Britain could hypothetically play.
Britain could help plug the gaps in Israel's dwindling arsenal by supplying air defence projectiles - with reports emerging today that Israel was burning through its supplies of Arrow interceptors.
But Waghorn said: "I think Britain's got to think very carefully about this.
"We have sent various RAF assets to the region and there's a possibility that they get involved in trying to protect Israel from more missile attacks."
Our military analyst Michael Clarke points out that defence secretary John Healey suggested this at a defence conference this week.
"I thought it was rather curious," said Clarke.
Both described any British involvement as "politically hard to imagine".
Waghorn said: "I think there's a real queasiness about that in the British government, and there's a lot of concern, I think, among Labour MPs as to what Israel's done, why it's done it so pre-emptively and has it provided any evidence.
"I think Britain is like what we're saying about China and Russia and everyone else - stay out of it."
Catch up on their insight from our Q&A below...

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Guardian
31 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Concerns mount as Brits in Israel told to stay put while embassy families flown out
The UK government removed families of Foreign Office officials from Israel due to security concerns but is continuing to advise British nationals to remain and follow local guidance – prompting questions over whether the approaches are consistent. While the dependents of diplomatic staff were flown out as a 'precautionary measure', with staff remaining at the embassy in Tel Aviv and the consulate in Jerusalem, the broader travel advice has not changed. British nationals currently in Israel are being urged to register their presence online, but are not being advised to leave. Instead they are being told to monitor Israeli government alerts and make individual decisions based on their location and circumstances. Although thousands of people currently in Israel or the occupied Palestinian territories are understood to have registered their presence with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the government has not moved to advise a general departure. Israel and Iran have exchanged fire over the past six days after Israel launched air strikes which it said were aimed at preventing Iran developing a nuclear weapon. Iranian officials insist the country's nuclear programme is peaceful. The disparity in approach has prompted confusion and a growing sense of unfairness, particularly among those questioning why the government acted pre-emptively to protect its own personnel but not ordinary citizens. It is understood that the department believes the two positions are consistent, citing a distinct duty of care to diplomatic staff. The decision to remove family members was based on the view that they are non-essential and more exposed to movement-related risks. For the wider public, the guidance remains to monitor Israeli government alerts and remain close to shelters where advised. Ministers say the overall threat level is being closely monitored, with consular teams deployed across Israel and neighbouring countries. The Foreign Office has said land borders with Jordan and Egypt remain open, and consular teams are in a position to provide assistance to British nationals who choose to leave Israel by land. But officials maintain that the threshold for advising a general departure has not yet been reached, pointing instead to the continued availability of commercial flights and overland border crossings into Egypt and Jordan. The prime minister chaired an emergency Cobra meeting on Wednesday to assess the escalating situation in the Middle East and review contingency planning. A senior government source described the situation as 'grave and volatile', and said ministers were 'working round the clock' with international partners to support de-escalation and keep British nationals safe. 'We want to de-escalate and do our first job – keep British nationals safe,' the source said. More than a thousand people have now registered their presence with the FCDO. Ministers say this does not indicate that assisted departures are being prepared, but that it enables the UK to better assess who is on the ground and what kind of support may be required if the situation worsens. While many of those registered are thought to be dual British-Israeli nationals who may not seek UK consular assistance, a smaller number of people have made active requests for support. The government has deployed extra consular staff to Jordan and Egypt, with rapid deployment teams on standby. For now ministers continue to rely on commercial options and Israeli public safety instructions as the basis of their advice to British nationals – a stance that has prompted unease given the parallel decision to evacuate diplomatic families. Keir Starmer has said that Donald Trump was interested in de-escalation in the Middle East, saying 'nothing' he had heard from the president suggested Washington was poised to get involved. However the US president told reporters outside the White House on Wednesday that he was considering strikes. 'I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do.'


Daily Mail
34 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Trump shuts down reporter who asked whether he'll nuke Iran
By President Donald Trump hilariously shut down a reporter who asked a pointed question about a potential US strike on Iran - before mocking her right outside of the White House . The reporter, CNN 's Alayna Treene, asked Trump 'whether you are moving closer, or whether you believe the US is moving closer, to striking Iranian nuclear facilities.' 'Well, obviously I can't say that, right? You don't seriously think I am going to answer that question?' he said with a smirk. The president proceeded to laugh it off before offering up an impression of the reporter's question. "'Will you strike the Iranian nuclear component and what time, exactly, sir? Sir, would you strike it?'" Trump said. '"Would you please inform us so we can be there and watch?"' 'I mean, you don't even know if I may do it. I may do it. I may not do it,' he said of entering the conflict to side with Israel. 'Nobody knows what I'm going to do.' Treene, a White House reporter who made the Forbes 30 Under 30 media list in 2021, then took to both X and Instagram to talk up the exchange. 'Nothing's finished until it's finished.' As he spoke, missiles launched from Iran continued to target Israel, where the U.S. is currently coordinating planes and cruise ships to evacuate American citizen. Trump engaged in his remarks at a press conference meant to ring in the installation of two new White House flagpoles, where he clashed with Treene at another point as well. He went on to wax poetic about his supporter before bringing up how he 'won all seven swing states' over Kamala Harris. 'Report that,' he told Treene, who joined CNN in January 2023.


The Guardian
37 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Iranian opposition supporters grapple with US and Israeli regime change plans
Despite a substantial internet blackout, news spread quickly in Iran on Tuesday night: the US was considering joining Israel in its war on Iran. 'We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding. We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now … Our patience is wearing thin,' the US president, Donald Trump, said on Truth Social on Tuesday night. He added three minutes later in a second post: 'UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!' When Mehnaz*, a 24-year-old student activist in east Tehran, heard the news, she did not think of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. Instead, she thought of her fellow students who were detained, shot and executed by Iranian security forces during the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests. 'After Mahsa [Amini]'s death, we tried to stand up. Teenagers were shot point blank, our compatriots were hanged. We could never get rid of the Islamic Republic on our own. Now, someone from outside is helping us,' Mehnaz told the Guardian via text on Wednesday after a sleepless night of Israeli bombing. The prospect of imminent US involvement in an Israeli bombing campaign, which is suggested to be in pursuit of regime change, has laid bare deep divides in Iran's population, even among the opposition. Many are deeply suspicious of the US's intentions in Iran, which has a bitter history of foreign adventurism gone awry. Others do not care who is the one to topple the government. A large portion of Iran's population is bitterly opposed to the government, which has only grown more repressive as the country slips deeper into economic crisis. Just two weeks ago, much of the country was paralysed by a nationwide strike in protest of the dismal economic situation. To some of the opposition, anything that could topple the Iranian government is welcome, whether it comes from street protests or US bunker busters. 'Yes, we'll probably have massive destruction in Tehran and other cities, but this regime will fall – and then we can rebuild everything again,' Mehnaz said. The toll of fighting – now in its sixth day – is growing. Israeli strikes have killed at least 585 people and wounded 1,326 others in Iran, according to Iranian media. At least 24 people have been killed and 600 injured by Iranian strikes in Israel. Fighting started after Israel launched hundreds of pre-dawn strikes on Iran last Friday, which it said were aimed at preventing the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Iran quickly retaliated by firing a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel, kicking off a steadily escalating tit-for-tat war. To Alborz*, an athlete from Tehran, the cost of Israeli bombing was already too high. 'I can't explain how we pass each day, in fear. It feels like I am walking on a street of hot coal and having acid rain down on me,' Alborz said via text. 'We want to get our freedom on our own terms, not through US bombs,' he added. Iran has a long history of foreign intervention that has left the population suspicious of foreign offers of help. A 1953 coup that deposed the democratically elected prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh, was backed by the CIA and MI6 to protect western oil interests. The intelligence plot features heavily in the national narrative of the current government, which overthrew the western-backed Shah of Iran in the country's 1979 revolution. The more recent 21st-century history of US adventurism in the Middle East has inspired further scepticism among Iranians. 'Look at Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq – they destroyed the countries, then walked away. It's funny how they call this 'exporting democracy' while they always have paralysed all the democratic institutions in those countries,' Abbas*, a 26-year-old artist from west Tehran, said. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has called for Iran's opposition to rise up, suggesting in a Monday interview that his military operation could help liberate Iranians from an oppressive regime. 'A light has been lit, carry it to freedom. This is the time, your hour of freedom is near, it's happening now,' Netanyahu told the London-based opposition news outlet Iran International on Monday. His calls rang hollow in Iran, which has seen nightly news broadcasts of starvation, displacement and mass killings in Gaza over the last 36 months. 'Now Trump wants to unite with Israel – and people here are scared. If they come here like they did in other places, we will be left with nothing but ruins and extremist groups,' Abbas said. While Israeli bombings have battered Iran, its country's security services have redoubled their crackdown on dissidents and political organisation. 'Activists and former political prisoners have been rearrested. They're basically targeting anyone who's talking about the war,' said Bahar Ghandehari, the director of advocacy and communications at the US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran. Iranian authorities have restricted internet access in the country, detained activists, and on Saturday arrested 16 people on charges of 'spreading rumours' on social media. The renewed wave of oppression has hardened the desire for regime change for some of the opposition, who now find themselves having to deal not only with Israeli bombings but also fear of arrest. 'Yes, 585 people were killed in this war till now, but in four days of demonstration after Mahsa Amini's killing, almost 1,000 people were killed by the regime,' said Mohammad Reza, a resident of Tehran in his 50s who took part in the 2022 protests. * Names have been changed