UK First Minister describes govt's direct involvement in Iran war wrong

FE Team | Published: March 04, 2026 22:13:48

LONDON, Feb 04 (BBC/AFP): First Minister Michelle O'Neill refused to join another cabinet briefing on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East on Monday afternoon.
Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said it was "genuinely disappointing". O'Neill, who also failed to join a briefing on Saturday, has described the government's "direct involvement in the war as wrong".
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer agreed to a US request to use British military bases for "defensive" strikes on Iranian missile sites. It came after Israel and the US struck Iran on Saturday, killing the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran has responded by launching missiles and drones across the region, targeting Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus and ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The cabinet briefing took place on Monday afternoon at Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) headquarters in Belfast and Little-Pengelly was in attendance.
Saudi Arabia intercepts
drone attack targeting
huge refinery
Saudi Arabia intercepted a drone attack in targeting its massive Ras Tanura refinery, the defence ministry said Wednesday, following an earlier hit on the complex along its Gulf coast this week.
"Initial estimates indicate that the attack was carried out by a drone and did not result in any damage," the ministry said in a statement posted on X.
On Monday, some operations at the Ras Tanura refinery were halted following an attack that caused a fire at the complex.
The Ras Tanura facility along the kingdom's eastern Gulf coast is home to one of the largest refineries in the entire Middle East and a cornerstone of the kingdom's energy sector.
US 'totally stupid' to attack
Iran during talks, says envoy
The United States made a "totally stupid decision" to attack Iran while in negotiations, and betrayed Gulf nations by trashing their diplomatic efforts, Tehran's UN ambassador said Tuesday.
Ali Bahreini, Iran's ambassador in Geneva, insisted Tehran had no problem with its neighbours, but could not let US bases in the Gulf be used as launchpads for attacks on Iran.
"War was not our option. War was imposed on Iran," Bahreini told UN correspondents.
US orders non-emergency
consular staff in Karachi,
Lahore to leave Pakistan
The US said Wednesday it ordered non-emergency staff at two Pakistani consulates to leave the country, and granted permission for staff to leave missions in Saudi Arabia, Cyprus and Oman as Iran retaliates to US-Israeli raids.
The US State Department ordered non-emergency US government employees and the family members of US government personnel from US consulates in Lahore and Karachi to leave Pakistan due to "safety risks",
The US embassy in Pakistan said in a statement.