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Instead, Trump suggested another approach, to send a few signals himself, by putting America’s ships on stand-by in the Gulf and sending aid to the most vulnerable civilian populations, effectively threatening Iran forces to back down.
So how far would the UK go along with this response if the situation escalated?
An ex-minister with knowledge of the discussions said, “We’d back the US. We’d be looking at how we go in with them, but it’s still so early.”
“There’s no chance the UK would stand back. “It’s easy to imagine we wouldn’t go all the way, but in practice, it wouldn’t be that simple.”
The first step would be to push for more sanctions, then as events escalated, the UK might commit to helping air strikes on nuclear facilities.
But remember, Iran warned when the Russian troops first entered Crimea, they pushed back at the idea America were trying to provoke them, to make them look like the villain to justify the military actions.
The UK’s job right now is to tell Iran the west is not out to get them, but the messaging has to be delicate.
One key insider pointed out, Europe was publicly aligned with Russia and [Turkey] – which are on Iran’s side, in the matter. Europe has to try to walk a fine line – to be clear they will not step away from America, but nor will they collar up to openly attack Iran.
Another looked at the bigger picture – the threat of war increasing sent stock markets into a dive last week. If things escalate further, it could affect supplies from the Middle East, with the population in uproar over smells, prices rocketing, empty shelves, and a severe economic impact. “That is what uncontrolled escalation looks like,” one senior government source warned.
Everyone said the hope is the threat provides a deterrent and the just the hint of a potential conflict can hold things back.
/ayatollah-ruhollah-khomeini-s-grandson-hassan-khomeini-stands-next-to-iran-s-supreme-leader-ayatollah-ali-khamenei” data-swap-image=”https://${resizedImageAddress}” data-fullbleed-selector=”.strip-hint” loading=”lazy” alt=”Reuters Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s grandson, Hassan Khomeini stands next to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei”>