Sadiq Khan says Britain must resist pressure to join US strikes and focus on peace and stability in the Middle East.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said Saturday that Prime Minister Keir Starmer was right to resist pressure from US President Donald Trump to join strikes on Iran.
“Keir Starmer is right to resist pressure from US President Donald Trump to join strikes on Iran,” Khan said in a statement posted on social media.
Khan described the conflict as a “war of choice” that risks causing “needless killing and suffering abroad” while also bringing serious economic consequences for the United Kingdom.
He said Britain should not take part in US-led military action against Iran, warning the conflict could deepen the cost-of-living pressures already facing British households.
Starmer on Thursday defended the government’s decision not to join the US-Israel strikes, saying the best solution remained “a negotiated settlement with Iran, where they give up their nuclear ambitions.”
“My focus is on providing calm, level-headed leadership in the national interest,” the prime minister said, adding that this meant “having the strength to stand firm by our values and our principles no matter the pressure to do otherwise.”
Country could face rising energy bills
Khan warned that households in London and across the UK could face rising energy bills, higher food prices and increased mortgage costs if the conflict escalates.
He said economic disruption from the war could also undermine recent progress in bringing inflation down.
While condemning the Iranian government, Khan argued that military action by the US and Israel was not the correct response.
“The brutal Iranian regime should rightly be condemned and international pressure applied,” he said. “But the US and Israeli action is not the right course to follow.”
Khan also criticized the strikes for being launched without international consensus or approval from the UN, warning that military interventions can be difficult to resolve once they begin.
“We know from experience it is much easier to start a war than end one,” he said, adding that “shock and awe is far easier than the hard task of healing broken nations.”
Khan said Britain should focus on defensive measures aimed at protecting its citizens and allies from immediate threats.
“Our country is best served by peace and stability in the Middle East, not chaos and carnage,” he said.
Trump criticizes London mayor
Trump, a long-standing critic of Khan, launched a new attack during a meeting Tuesday in the Oval Office with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
“You have a terrible Mayor of London, he’s an incompetent guy, you have Sharia courts, you don’t want Sharia courts,” Trump said.
A spokesperson for Khan responded: “The Mayor is clearly still living rent free in Donald Trump’s head. He’s obsessed with him. Sadiq could probably claim squatters’ rights.”
Khan has been a vocal critic of Trump since the US president first entered the White House in 2017.
