The British Prime Minister, Rt Hon. Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP, addressed a press conference on Thursday, 5 March ’26, morning at 10 Downing Street. The PM’s remarks focused on the situation in the Middle East.
The PM began by sharing that he was just after chairing another COBRA meeting.
He said that the UK continues to coordinate its responses to the situation in Iran and the Middle East.
He acknowledged that people’s anxiety, particularly regarding their family and friends affected by this situation, is real.
Also, given the impact on our lives and our economy, there is the potential for even greater escalation.
They can hardly believe that yet again, we are seeing missiles and drones falling with civilians in the firing line across the region.
So I wish to reassure the British public about the actions we are taking.
“Despite the chaos in the region, my focus remains on providing calm, level-headed leadership in the national interest.”
“This means deploying our military and diplomatic strengths to protect our people”.
“It also means having the strength to stand by our values and principles, no matter the pressure to do otherwise”, he said.
The long-standing British position is that the best way forward for the region and the world is a negotiated settlement with Iran, where Iran gives up its nuclear ambitions.
“That is the rationale for why I decided that the UK would not join the initial strikes on Iran by the U.S. and Israel”.
“The decision was deliberate. It was in the national interest, and I stand by it”.
“However, when Iran began attacking countries around the Gulf and the wider region, the situation changed”.
“Iran has now fired drones and missiles at 10 countries that did not attack it. These are allies of the UK, where we have hundreds of thousands of British people, besides British military personnel”.
