David Lammy Won't Say Whether The Government Supports Trump's Bombing Of Iran
David Lammy has refused to say whether the government backs Donald Trump’s decision to bomb Iran.
The foreign secretary also failed to say whether he believed the US president’s actions were even legal.
His comments came as Iran warned it was preparing a “decisive response” to the American strikes on its nuclear facilities.
Meanwhile, Keir Starmer held talks with Trump on Sunday night in which the pair discussed the need for Iran “to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible and to make progress on a lasting settlement” in the Middle East.
On Radio Four’s Today programme this morning, Lammy said Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.
Presenter Justin Webb asked him: “Is there a risk though that we as a country will [accept] the ends but we’re not willing to accept the means, or at least not willing to be public and say ‘yes we support military action, yes we think it was legal, yes we think it was the right thing to do’, but we very much want the things that it leads to?
“That puts us in a position of being morally suspect.”
But Lammy said: “If Iran is able to able to get a weapon, what we will see is nuclear proliferation across the Middle East.
“The world will be seriously more dangerous than it is at this moment, that’s why it must be stopped. That’s why that capability can’t happen, that’s why all of us are engaged in the diplomacy to get them to take that off-ramp and to deal with this once and for all.”
Asked if the US military action was “the right thing to do”, Lammy replied: “I’ve said that we weren’t involved in the military action.”
Webb asked again: “Was it the right thing to do?”
Lammy said: “What I’ve said is that ultimately this can only be dealt with in diplomacy.”
Asked by Webb if the bombing was legal or illegal, Lammy said: “It is for the Americans to discuss those issues.”
The foreign secretary also played down a post on X by Trump which seemed to suggest the US wanted to see “regime change” in Iran.
He said: “It’s clear that the acts on Saturday were targeted solely at the nuclear facilities. It’s clear from both Israel and the United States that they’re not going after the civilian leadership. I recognise that there’s a discussion about regime change, but that’s not under consideration at this time.”
Lammy added: “It is very likely that there will be further tweets on many issues over the next three and a half years of Donald Trump’s leadership. The rhetoric is strong, but actually I can tell you, having spoken to the Secretary of State, having sat in the White House, that this is targeted action to deal with Iran’s nuclear capability.
“We will get that assessment in the coming days, but in the end this has to be dealt with diplomatically.”