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Britain's Armed Forces Minister has slammed “utterly irrational” Iran over its “dangerous” response to deadly US strikes, warning we are at the “most fractious and unstable” geopolitical moment he has seen in his 24 years in the military.
Iran has unleashed a wave of fatal attacks across the Middle East and the wider region targeting Gulf states such Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to Kuwait and even Cyprus after the US and Israel launched co-ordinated strikes on Iran over the weekend.
Speaking to LBC, Al Carns blasted Iran's response as an “utterly irrational and deeply dangerous” escalation – as fears grow for the 100,000 British nationals stranded in the region.
He told Tonight with Andrew Marr: “They've struck 10 different countries now, some countries not involved at all in any way, shape or form.
“Those targets are everywhere, from hotels in Dubai all the way through to airfields and ports all the way along the Middle East. And so they have absolutely broadened out and escalated this.”
It comes after Sir Keir Starmer defended his decision not to join US and Israeli strikes on Iran and declared the country "must never get its hands" on nuclear weapons.
He insisted his decision was in Britain’s national interest, telling the House of Commons today: “That is what I’ve done, and I stand by it.”
But the US President said he was “very disappointed” in Sir Keir for initially refusing to allow the use of the UK-US Diego Garcia base to target Iran.
Mr Trump said it “took far too long” for the Prime Minister to change his mind.
Speaking to MPs, Sir Keir said: “President Trump has expressed his disagreement with our decision not to get involved in the initial strikes, but it is my duty to judge what is in Britain’s national interest.”
Defending his decision not to join strikes, Sir Keir continued: “It is simply not possible to shoot down every Iranian missile and every drone after they’ve been launched. The only way to stop the threat is to destroy the missiles at source, in their storage depots or at the launches.”
Backing the PM, Mr Carns said: “I think we're absolutely in our right to take carefully but calculated decisions to ensure our national interests, our allies and partners in the region, and importantly, all those hundreds of thousands of British citizens who may be listening to this programme, to try and protect them as best we can.”
But he warned: “I've been really clear. We live in probably the most fractious and unstable geopolitical time in my 24 years in the military.”
When asked whether Britain is increasing defence spending as fast as needed, Mr Cairns replied: “Defence spending has gone up. It's going to continue going up over the next 10 years. That speed will be dictated at a later date.”