LONDON

The UK has approved an expansion of US access to British bases for operations targeting Iranian missile capabilities threatening shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, Downing Street has said.

A government statement said that in a Friday meeting, Cabinet ministers “confirmed that the agreement for the US to use UK bases in the collective self-defence of the region includes US defensive operations to degrade the missile sites and capabilities being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz."

The government stressed that “the principles behind the UK’s approach to the conflict remain the same” and calling for “urgent de-escalation and a swift resolution to the war."

The Cabinet ministers “condemned Iran’s expansion of its targets to include international shipping. They agreed that Iran’s reckless strikes, including on Red Ensign (British Shipping Registers) vessels and those of our close allies and Gulf partners, risked pushing the region further into crisis and worsening the economic impact being felt in the UK and around the world."

Writing on US social media company X, opposition Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the decision the "mother of all U-turns."

Since the high-intensity US-Israeli offensive began on Feb. 28, the UK has pivoted from an initial refusal of base access to a state of deep logistical and kinetic integration.

“While taking the necessary action to defend ourselves and our allies, we will not be drawn into the wider war,” Prime Minister Starmer said on Monday, adding that the UK government will continue to work toward ending the fighting.

But Britain’s expanding role in the conflict has prompted growing debate over whether that distinction is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain.

Regional hostilities in the Middle East have escalated since Israel and the US launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, so far killing some 1,300 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile attacks across the region and has effectively closed to most ships the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil transit route that normally handles about 20 million barrels per day and roughly 20% of global liquefied natural gas trade.