Starmer says UK will allow US to use bases to attack missile sites in Iran

Iran has continued to launch missiles and drones at its neighbours (Altaf Qadri/AP)

The UK has agreed to a US request to use British bases to attack Iranian missile sites, British prime minister Keir Starmer has said.

Britain has so far not been involved in the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, and is reported to have previously refused American requests to use UK bases for operations against the country.

But in a statement on Sunday night, Starmer said he had granted the request “to prevent Iran firing missiles across the region, killing innocent civilians, putting British lives at risk, and hitting countries that have not been involved”.

The US will use the bases for the “specific and limited defensive purpose” of hitting missile launch sites or storage depots in Iran, he added.

Starmer said Britain’s allies in the Gulf had “asked us to do more to defend them”, and accused Iran of putting British lives at risk across the region.

The statement comes as US and Israeli combat operations against Iran entered their second day on Sunday.

The Israeli military said it had continued to hit sites in central Tehran following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an air strike on Saturday morning.

Iran has vowed to retaliate with “devastating blows” and has fired missiles at many of its neighbouring countries as well as US military targets.