Johnson ‘caught off guard’ by US decision to kill Iran’s top general
BORIS Johnson was caught off guard by the first foreign policy crisis of his premiership, according to one of his own MPS, who blamed the serial failure of the US to share information with its ally.
Despite Mr Johnson’s good relations with President Trump in public, Tom Tugendhat suggested the Prime Minister was not told in advance about the air strike that killed Iran’s top general.
“I’ve long believed that the purpose of having allies is that we can surprise our enemies and not each other,” the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the last parliament told BBC News.
“It’s been a pattern, sadly, which has been a bit of a shame, that the US administration of late has not shared with us and that is a matter of concern.
“I would urge the US administration to share much more closely with allies, particularly those who are fighting alongside in the region, including us.”
Andrew Burt, who was Mr Johnson’s deputy when he was foreign secretary, also said he doubted the Pentagon had let the UK know about its pre-dawn attack on General Qasem Soleimani.
Mr Johnson, who has been celebrating New Year on the private Caribbean island of Mustique, has yet to comment on the death of Soleimani, who led the elite Quds force, and was seen as the second most powerful figure in Iran after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who spoke by phone to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo yesterday, called for calm as the drone strike led to immediate Iranian threats of revenge.
In a written statement, Mr Raab said: “We have always recognised the aggressive threat posed by the Iranian Quds force led by Qasem Soleimani.
“Following his death, we urge all parties to de-escalate. Further conflict is in none of our interests.”
After the call, Mr Pompeo tweeted: “Discussed with Dominic Raab the recent decision to take defensive action to eliminate Qasem Soleimani.
“Thankful that our allies recognise the continuing aggressive threats posed by the Iranian Quds Force. The US remains committed to de-escalation.”
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the “US assassination” of Soleimani was “an extremely serious and dangerous” escalation of conflict in the Middle East.
He said: “The UK Government should urge restraint on the part of both Iran and the US, and stand up to the belligerent actions and rhetoric coming from the United States.
“All countries in the region and beyond should seek to ratchet down the tensions to avoid deepening conflict, which can only bring further misery to the region, 17 years on from the disastrous invasion of Iraq.”
Acting Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey accused Mr Trump of having “radically and recklessly escalated tensions” in the Middle East.
He said: “Iran is governed by a brutal regime which has been openly hostile to the west. Donald Trump has yet again radically and recklessly escalated tensions in an area where peace-keeping was already on a knife-edge.
“Given the severity of the crisis, the Prime Minister must make a statement about the UK’S position immediately.
“The UK should not automatically follow whatever position the Trump administration takes, but work with a broader group of concerned states at the United Nations.”
Mr Burt said the air strike would cause a “huge potential escalation” of the simmering conflict between Iran and her proxies in the wider region.
He said: “This is a very grave escalation in the affairs of the region. The consequences are unknowable and I think words and comments have got to be extremely carefully handled.”
Richard Ratcliffe, whose wife Nazanin Zaghari-ratcliffe is detained in Iran, said: “Things are getting much worse again between the US and Iran, but also between all of us and Iran.
He told ITV’S Good Morning Britain: “I sit here partly worried for what that means for Nazanin, partly worried what that means for my in-laws, sat in their ordinary living room in Tehran where they’re all really worried.”
Former British national security adviser Lord Ricketts said the US appeared to have seized a rare chance to kill Soleimani without consulting allies or developing a wider policy plan. He told Radio 4: “I don’t think either the Americans or the Iranians want all-out war, but a targeted strike is not a strategy and I think what everybody is worrying about is understanding what happens next. Where do we go from here?
“It gives the Iranians the option of attacking Western targets right across the Middle East on a timing of their choice. I think some kind of target is inevitable.”