Emily Thornberry lauds UK’s ‘non-involvement’ in Iran strike. But there’s a problem.

Foreign affairs committee chair Emily Thornberry has celebrated the lack of UK involvement in US strikes on Iran. But there’s a couple of issues, not just with this claim, but the entire track record of the person making it…

Speaking about the latest developments in Iran, the one-time Corbyn backer posted on X:

I am pleased to see the UK is not involved in these strikes on Iran. They are ill-advised and illegal.
We will be hit by the consequences though & need to prepare for chaos in the region, with shipping lanes, oil facilities & military bases (including our own) being attacked.

— Emily Thornberry (@EmilyThornberry) February 28, 2026

Strikes on Iran are “ill-advised”

She’s not entirely wrong. The strikes are illegal and ill-advised. Their consequences are likely to be severe not just for the wider region, but also for the global economy.

But still, there are a couple of thorny issues we must first address.

Thornberry has herself previously defended Israel’s genocidal misconduct in Gaza. In 2024, when asked on BBC if Israel cutting off food and electricity in Gaza was “within international law”:

Thornberry, with a straight-face, said:

I think Israel has an absolute right to defend itself against terrorism…

You can listen to her remarks for yourself:

Instead of her engaging in self-pity, I'd like to ask my local MP @EmilyThornberry about:

a) Her failure to condemn Israel's stated intent to commit war crimes from the start

b) Why she didn't realise this would inevitably mean lots of dead babiespic.twitter.com/9NYs3hdPl8 https://t.co/6Zxm2C3fhw

— Owen Jones (@owenjonesjourno) March 19, 2024

It’s great news that Thornberry has the foresight to recognise the illegal war on Iran for what it is… only, it’s a little late to merit an applause and hardly serves as penance for her past support of Israel.

The UK is involved

Another glaring issue with Thornberry’s comments is that the UK is involved in the attack on Iran. On 28 February, when UK PM Keir Starmer FINALLY got round to making a public statement, he admitted that:

British planes “are in the sky today” in the Middle East “as part of co-ordinated regional defensive operations to protect our people, our interests and our allies”.

Oh, and there’s more…

On 24 February the Royal Navy massively contradicted itself. It refused to confirm the presence of UK sailors aboard a US warship involved in the attack – despite saying on its own website this was the case.

As the Canary wrote:

Either UK personnel are aboard the US warships being positioned to threaten – and possibly attack – Iran or they are not. Self-evidently, there is a public interest in knowing it this is the case. And Carns’ claim that the MoD does not comment on “specific roles, locations, or units in which UK personnel may be embedded” is clearly inaccurate.

We also noted that:

Carn’s own boss, John Healy, and the Navy’s own website have both publicly commented on the presence of British personnel on US warships.

The MOD is contradicting itself again.

Then add to that the UK’s longstanding agreement with Israel to attack and undermine Iran. As Declassified UK reported in 2024:

According to leaked documents, the British project was codenamed HEZUK and designed to counter the “destabilising regional activity of Iran and Hizballah”.

This would be done by strengthening UK-Israel intelligence collaboration and increasing military cooperation, with the effect of deepening bilateral security integration.

Keir Starmer is a willing lackey to US power. But he doesn’t even have the moral courage to say so out loud – nor Thornberry for that matter.

It’s true that UK military forces may not be bombing targets inside Iran. True. But our sailors and airmen are supporting and propping up US interests as we speak. Britain needs leadership that will divest fully from American empire. And that is never going to come from the likes of Starmer.

Featured image via the Canary