Tony Blair blasts Starmer with brutal 4-word putdown for failure to back on Trump on Iran | UK | News
Sir Tony Blair criticized Sir Keir Starmer for not supporting US attacks on Iran. The former Labor leader has slammed the current Prime Minister and insisted he should have supported Donald Trump immediately after the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran.
Blair, who supports the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, made clear his feelings about the current administration’s actions in a speech at a private luncheon on Friday (6 March). The 72-year-old leader said “you better come” as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, regardless of his ally. He added that the current conflict in the Middle East was “not like Vietnam” or “the Iraq campaign where thousands of British troops were sent.”
As reported by TelegramBlair said: “I’m not telling you anything that I haven’t said and haven’t said to the government. I think we should have supported America from the very beginning. They were asking us to use our bases to refuel. It’s not like Vietnam. It’s not like sending 1000s of British soldiers like we did in Iraq.”
“So I think you need to make it clear to the public that this American relationship is important. It’s especially important today. It’s not about whether you have this or that president, but if they’re your allies and they’re an indispensable cornerstone of your security, you better show up.”
Trump recently said that Starmer was “not Winston Churchill” after refusing to allow the use of UK bases for US-Israeli attacks on Iran. He told reporters in the Oval Office that he was “not happy with the UK” because the decision meant US planes had to fly “many extra hours”.
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The 10-day departure warning for the ship, which can carry 36 F-35 fighter jets and four Merlin helicopters, has been reduced by half to five days. The crew was also reportedly warned about possible deployment as the war in Iran continues.
But Trump remains unhappy and appears to reject the offer. He said on Truth Social that Britain was “finally thinking seriously” about sending aircraft carriers to the Middle East, but “we don’t need them anymore”.
He wrote: “The United Kingdom, our once Great Ally, perhaps the greatest of them all, is seriously considering eventually sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East. That’s okay Prime Minister Starmer, we don’t need them anymore – but we’ll remember. We don’t need people fighting wars after we’ve won them!”
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary John Healey is reportedly preparing to ask Rachel Reeves for a cash injection to cover the rising defense bill. The Chancellor is already under pressure from rising energy prices and borrowing costs.
