BORIS JOHNSON: Tony Blair is right. We may not like it but we can’t pretend this is not our war with Iran, too

Where was Britain? This is the question people are asking themselves today in the US, the Gulf and around the world.

Where was England in January and February this year?

It was clear that the US was building a massive Armada off the coast of Iran, but of course it was not very clear what the plan was at that stage.

We have a very large Embassy in Washington. We have unique security and intelligence services.

Did they discover what was going on? Did Starmer have the courage to ask Donald Trump? Otherwise it shows a disastrous lack of curiosity.

There is a world of difference between a few tactical strikes on Iran’s military facilities as a way to spur nuclear talks and an all-out attack aimed at killing large numbers of regime figures.

If we had involved ourselves in what was going on, perhaps we could have asked some useful questions that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had not thought of. Because we know the Gulf well, we could help shape Trump’s thinking.

In one way or another, it was the British who helped create most of the Gulf monarchies; and in some of these, from living memory – in the early 1970s – we were the colonial authority.

For better or worse, England played a major role in the birth of modern Iran. Our understanding of the culture and politics of the Middle East is, or was, one of the glories of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. We certainly know the basic facts of geography.

Four Typhoons that shot down Iranian drones from our base in Cyprus have belatedly ascended to the skies. But as far as I understand, we still haven’t sent any anti-aircraft defence.

If we were in the room, and we should be, we might ask: What would be the plan if, as has long been predicted, the Iranians respond to a large-scale attack by closing the Strait of Hormuz? Are you ready for boots on the ground?

What if, to quote an advisor to an infamous former Republican president, you notice that your breasts are feeling tight?

We are the second most important player in NATO. We are not unduly proud of being the United States’ closest, longest-term and most reliable ally. But we appear to have done nothing to influence America’s approach to Iran; Yet there were obvious and serious risks to the British and world economy.

Let me put it this way: Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair were closely involved in the preparations for the previous Gulf wars in 1991 and 2003.

Say what you will about these wars, they were both direct military successes with clear objectives clearly stated and quickly achieved.

Where was England this time? Why wasn’t Starmer in the room? It was his duty to enter even if he wasn’t invited.

Instead, we left it entirely to Bibi Netanyahu to simply whisper into Trump’s ear when the Israeli leader clearly has an agenda of his own.

This was a colossal failure of statecraft and diplomacy.

Now I look back at that period at the beginning of this year and wonder what our former US Ambassador Peter Mandelson was doing: Was he getting a massage?

The Labor government showed the barrier-like passivity that is the Prime Minister’s trademark and which I fear continues when war breaks out. We were woefully slow to react to Iran’s bombing of UK bases in Cyprus and Diego Garcia.

More importantly, we couldn’t get help from some of our best friends and allies around the world fast enough. Saudi, Qatar, Kuwait, Emirates, Bahrain, Oman; all have been subjected to highly destructive attacks by Iranian drones.

Four Typhoons that shot down Iranian drones from our base in Cyprus have belatedly ascended to the skies. But, as I understand it, we still did not send in any anti-aircraft defence, and we chose this moment to destroy our naval base in Bahrain, so that the British ships and sailors could return home; exactly when Bahrainis need support the most.

Worse, when Trump asked allies for help in opening the Strait of Hormuz, Starmer offered the immortal and foolish judgment: ‘This is not our war.’

“I’m afraid Tony Blair is right,” Boris writes. We should have offered our bases immediately. We should have immediately offered to help clear the Bosphorus with the ships we had.

Starmer says this isn’t our war… Our war isn’t it? With energy prices soaring and Britons already attacking the pumps?

Isn’t it our war? With energy prices soaring and Britons already attacking the pumps?

Isn’t this our war when this conflict, combined with Labour’s terrible policies, threatens economic pain for every family in the country?

Isn’t it our war, where some of our most important friends are bombed every day?

Does Starmer have any idea who is actually investing in this country? Climb up to the roof of number 10, Sir Keir, and take a look at the billions the Gulf has poured into our capital alone. Will everything be the same after these actions?

We can all understand why so many people in this country and around the world are secretly or openly boasting about Trump’s discomfort. He relentlessly trolled the Europeans over Greenland, over tariffs, our military prowess, and so on.

I can understand why so many people think Trump has made his bed and now he can lie on it; that it can be cooked in its own juice; and that after he had broken the jug in the pottery storehouse, he bought it and possessed it; and so on.

I can understand people in the Labor Party wanting to give Trump two fingers. All else aside, Starmer is now clearly a prisoner of the Muslim vote in this country.

But our nation’s drift away from America is a major long-term strategic mistake.

This war, despite the current difficulties, could still end well, with the possibility of a change for the better in Iran. But if we maintain our traditional position of being a loyal and reliable ally, we will be in a much better position to help and prevent further mistakes.

I’m afraid Blair is right. We should have offered our bases immediately. We should have immediately offered to help clear the Bosphorus with the ships we had. Then we would be in a better position to end this war quickly and persuade Trump to declare victory now, because the Iranians will see that the United States can actually rely on its allies when the going gets tough.

It is an illusion to think that we can bury our heads in the sand, as Starmer is trying to do, and it is an absolute mistake to think that there is a Europe-only alternative to NATO. The transatlantic alliance is the most important geostrategic reality of the last 150 years and is based on a fundamental principle of reciprocity.

Starmer says this is not our war and certainly not one we would start or recommend in the UK if we had been in this room from the beginning. But we can no longer escape its consequences; We must remember the magnitude of America’s commitment to us and our security.

How did we win the Falklands? How did we save Bosnia and Kosovo? With American help, and the Americans were not responsible for both conflicts.

Go to the graves of the thousands of Americans who died on the beaches of Normandy in 1944, the graves of children from Kansas who had never been to Europe before.

Many isolationist Americans said this was not their war. But they helped end it, and thank God for that.