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Opinion

Starmer should align with Trump policy on Iran

There is a series of measures that would have us standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the US

November 21, 2024 11:09
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A S-200 surface-to-air missile system on display in Tehran (Getty Images)
3 min read

Nigel Farage was the most rational person in the room. I never thought I’d be saying those words – but hear me out.

Last week, after highlighting the FBI’s evidence that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was behind the latest assassination attempt on newly elected president Donald Trump, Farage called on Sir Keir Starmer to proscribe the IRGC. But other than a visibly angry Jeremy Corbyn in the background, it was the rationale Farage provided for the proscribing the IRGC that really stood out.

The Reform UK Leader and Trump ally asserted that proscribing “what is so obviously a terrorist organisation” was not just the “right thing to do but would mend some fences between the [Labour] government and the incoming presidency of Trump”. Starmer, of course, provided a somewhat stale, pale and scripted response to Farage, suggesting the proscription of the IRGC was “under review”.

The truth is, however, that previous ill-judged and amateurish attacks on Trump by MPs who are now members of the Labour government – including from Foreign Secretary David Lammy – have put the “special relationship” at risk. After all, if one lesson can be learnt from the first Trump administration, it’s that the president-elect does take things personally.

Topics:

Iran