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For starters, the Brits hate the current occupant even more than they hated GWB. And they really despise their Labour PM, even though there is beginning to be a grudging consensus that he is sorta-kinda doing the right thing w/r/t Iran. Right after this all kicked off, Starmer said probably the single most popular thing he’s said since moving in to No. 11. by ruling out any UK participation in “regime change from the skies.” The UK isn’t completely uninvolved, of course. After initially refusing permission, the UK has permitted the US to use Royal Air Force bases to prepare for “defensive” actions in Iran. American B-52s and B-1s have been taking off, laden with ordnance, from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.

Still, it does look for now as if the UK will not be drawn in any further. It helps that the US flailing is obvious. Trump, for instance, spent most of last week telling the Europeans that the conflict he started in Iran was totally over and that he’d won, and that he didn’t need their stupid boats to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, which is, by the way, completely open. This weekend, he began demanding that they send their stupid boats to secure the Strait.

It also helps that Starmer’s key political opponents have been screeching that he must support the American efforts in Iran: both Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch (leader of the Tories, if you’d forgotten), have lamented that the UK has abandoned its mighty ally.

Finally, it helps that the rest of Europe is a hard NOPE on getting tangled up in Iran. The Germans were particularly blunt this morning:

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius:

“There will be no military participation.. We have a situation which we did not provoke.. This war started without any consultations.. What does Trump expect from a handful of European frigates in Strait of Hormuz that the mighty US Navy can't manage alone?"

— Adam Schwarz (@adamjschwarz.bsky.social) 2026-03-16T12:50:01.323Z

https://balloon-juice.com/2026/03/16/donny-no-mates/