Iran’s warning comes as European governments scramble to define their role in an escalating Middle East conflict, weighing U.S. requests for military support against fears of being drawn directly into the war.
Iranian retaliatory attacks have hit military bases where European soldiers are stationed, and France said on Monday that it will bolster its military presence in the Middle East. Iranian attacks against civilian buildings and infrastructure in Gulf countries have also spooked authorities, with many European countries rushing to organize outbound travel for their stranded citizens.
In a statement on Sunday, the leaders of France, Germany and the U.K. said they would take steps including “potentially enabling necessary and proportionate defensive action to destroy Iran’s capability to fire missiles and drones at their source.”
The wording can be interpreted in different ways by the three countries, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s spokesperson said Monday.
Starmer, for example, said on Sunday that he would allow the U.S. to use British bases to launch attacks on Iran, as long as they served “that specific and limited defensive purpose” of striking at Iran’s missile capabilities.
It’s not clear whether such assistance meets Iran’s threshold for involvement in the war. Shortly after Starmer’s statement, a drone strike hit the British military facility of Akrotiri in Cyprus.