The White House is pleading with allies to help secure the Strait of Hormuz — and privately assuring them that President Donald Trump is fine with high-level statements — as it pushes to calm financial markets, according to three European officials. The Trump administration is urging European and Asian allies to issue these public commitments by the end of the week, the officials said. The White House is less concerned about specific contributions at this stage, they added. All were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive deliberations. The move comes as Trump has been getting increasingly irate about allies not signing on to help keep ships moving through the vital waterway, posting on Truth Social on Tuesday: “WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!” Even just a note of public support could help reassure increasingly dismayed investors, and perhaps give the Trump administration a framework of cooperation to build on later. Those who have spoken with Trump administration officials in recent days said it’s clear the White House values the market reaction most of all, according to two of the European officials. Asked for comment, the White House pointed to Trump’s criticism of allies in the Oval Office Tuesday. “I think NATO is making a very foolish mistake,” Trump told reporters during an appearance Tuesday beside Ireland’s leader in the Oval Office. “I’ve long said … I wonder whether or not NATO would ever be there for us. So this is a, this was a great test, because we don’t need them, but they should have been there.” Trump’s war with Iran has put many of America’s closest allies and partners in a difficult spot. Trump didn’t brief many of these countries about the operation ahead of time. Those that got advanced notice had hours or days, not weeks, to prepare to defend their infrastructure and people in the region. In Europe, committing ships to escort tankers through the strait would take away resources needed to help defend Ukraine against Russian attacks. In the Indo-Pacific, publicly backing a Hormuz security effort risks domestic backlash in countries where another Middle East conflict is unpopular, while also raising concerns about diverting already stretched naval resources from deterring China and protecting critical regional sea lanes. It would also take time for many countries to reroute ships or other assets to the Middle East. While many of Washington’s allies are keen to find a way to support Trump’s efforts, some want to sort out the details of their contributions before signing on to the effort, one of the European officials said. “Leaders are well aware that it’s a one-way street with him, that they can no longer count on the U.S. the way they used to. But most are looking to avoid a total rupture,” another one of the European officials said. “So despite the ironic twist here, they are weighing practical and political considerations, not emotional ones. If there is a lack of interest in what he’s asking, it’s because Europe is already stretched economically and with defending Ukraine. But there is also real concern about oil prices and what it would mean if the strait is shut down.” Trump repeated his earlier complaints on Tuesday that the U.K. had been too slow to accede to his requests to send two aircraft carriers to the Strait of Hormuz. But those aircraft carriers are located in far away theaters — such as near Australia — and would take weeks to get in place, should the U.K. bow to Trump’s request. Speaking alongside Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Europe must not be distracted by the Middle East. “Putin can’t be the one who benefits from the conflict in Iran, whether that’s oil prices or the dropping of sanctions,” Starmer said. “It is really important we keep our resolve in relation to supporting Ukraine, doing everything we can to weaken the hand of Putin.” Germany, Canada and Australia, meanwhile, have ruled out any military participation. France did the same on Tuesday, with President Emmanuel Macron saying France is “not a party to the conflict and therefore France will never take part in operations to open or liberate the Strait of Hormuz” and would only participate in naval escorts “once the situation has calmed down.” Tokyo is “vigorously examining” whether the dispatch of escort vessels “is within the bounds of the law,” Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Tuesday, per the Japan Times. That hesitation likely reflects the restrictions imposed by Japan’s post-war constitution, which forbid “armed troops to be dispatched to the land, sea, or airspace of other countries with the aim of using force.” Trump has flip-flopped publicly about how much the U.S. needs its allies to help protect freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and has downplayed how much the shutdown of the channel affects America. Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic adviser to the UAE’s president, said Tuesday that his country was considering joining the U.S. effort to secure Hormuz. “We all have a responsibility to ensure the flow of trade, the flow of energy,” he said at an online event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations. Some affected countries have talked about standing up their own operations to protect freedom of navigation when the conditions allow. European foreign ministers also met on Monday to discuss extending its Operation Aspides, which stood up last year to protect ships transiting the Red Sea amid Houthi attacks. At the same time, U.S. allies are seeking better information from Washington about what Trump and his team see as the endpoint for the war that began in late February. “Allies are still more in an, ‘Ok so, how’s it going, what’s your thinking mode. What are your assessments? We hear what you’re saying publicly on the aims, but what does success and the point you put the pencil down look like?’” the first European official said. Phelim Kine contributed to this report.

Formula 1 has canceled races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia scheduled for April, as the ongoing war between Iran and the U.S. and Israel disrupts international sports throughout the Middle East. “Due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East the Grands Prix, alongside F2, F3, and F1 Academy rounds, will not take place as scheduled,” Formula 1 said in a post on X. The grands prix, marquee events at the top of the F1 calendar, were scheduled to be the fourth and fifth races of the season, which kicked off during the first weekend of March in Melbourne. Last year, both were won by Australian driver Oscar Piastri, who rode a strong start in the campaign to a third-place finish in the F1 season standings. Iran targeted both Gulf countries in the early days of the conflict in a retaliatory campaign that saw Tehran take shots at Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, Cyprus and Israel. On Friday, NATO defense systems in the eastern Mediterranean shot down a missile about to breach Turkish airspace. It isn’t the first global sporting event interrupted by Middle Eastern hostilities since President Donald Trump and Israel launched their attack on Iran in February, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Fanatics Flag Football Classic, an exhibition matchup featuring NFL legend Tom Brady and athletes including Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts and Myles Garrett, was moved from Saudi Arabia to Los Angeles this week. The Iranian national team, meanwhile, is unlikely to make the trip to North America for this summer’s World Cup, hosted jointly by the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Trump said he doesn’t “believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety,” in a Thursday Truth Social post that came after Tehran’s sports minister cast doubt on his country’s participation in the event.

NATO defense systems in the eastern Mediterranean on Friday shot down another missile launched from Iran that was heading toward Turkish airspace, the third such interception in a little over a week. “On Friday morning, NATO again successfully intercepted an Iranian ballistic missile heading to Turkey,” the defense alliance said in a post on X. “NATO remains vigilant and stands firm in its defense of all allies,” it added. It remained unclear whether Iran was directly targeting Turkey or whether the missile was intended to cross Turkish airspace en route to another destination. Tehran claimed that the first two intercepted missiles did not come from Iran. The two previous interceptions took place: on March 4; and on Monday. No casualties have been reported so far. Tehran warned European countries on March 3 that supporting the U.S. and Israel would be met with retaliation, after Iran fired weapons toward Cyprus earlier. The expanding conflict started with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. “All necessary measures are being taken decisively and without hesitation against any threat directed at our country’s territory and airspace,” Ankara said after the downing on Friday. “Consultations are being conducted with the relevant country to clarify all aspects of the incident,” the Turkish defense ministry said in a statement. The incidents put Ankara in a dilemma. Iran is Turkey’s neighbor and is considered a “brotherly” country by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Ankara, which has the second-biggest army in NATO, opposes the war in the region. Erdoğan held a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday to discuss the situation, a day after the second missile was shot down. A statement by the Turkish government on the conversation with Pezeshkian said: “Saying that Turkey doesn’t approve of unlawful interventions against Iran and Iran’s targeting of the brotherly countries in the region, President Erdoğan stated that targeting the brotherly countries benefits no one and that these must all stop.” However, the statement added: “Pointing out that Turkey is being adversely affected by a conflict it is not party to, President Erdoğan underscored that violation of the Turkish airspace, for whatever reason, cannot be excused and that Turkey will continue to take all the necessary measures against such violations.”

A U.S. military refueling plane crashed in western Iraq and efforts were underway to rescue those on board, Central Command said Thursday. The crash of the Boeing KC-135 jet, which comes in the second week of a war on Iran launched by the U.S. and Israel, was not a result of enemy or friendly fire, Central Command said in a statement that made no mention of any casualties. “The incident occurred in friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury, and rescue efforts are ongoing,” it said. A second aircraft involved in the crash landed without incident, the military said. The crash is the fourth since the start of the war. Three U.S. fighter jets were accidentally shot down by Kuwait during the initial phase of the conflict. All six crew members safely ejected. The Pentagon has said seven U.S. service members have died in the war and approximately 140 have been wounded. President Donald Trump has sent conflicting signals in recent days about his expectations for the war after initially projecting the U.S. could continue attacking Iran for “four to five weeks.” He told CBS News on Monday that the war was “very complete,” just a day after he told GOP lawmakers in Florida that “we haven’t won enough” in Iran. “The situation with Iran is moving along very rapidly,” Trump said Thursday during an event at the White House.

Iran is walking back its attempts to lessen tensions with neighbors in the Middle East. Blame President Donald Trump, a senior diplomat said on Saturday. Tehran’s “openness to de-escalation within our region provided that our neighbours’ airspace, territory, and waters are not used to attack the Iranian People was almost immediately killed by President Trump’s misinterpretation of our capabilities, determination and intent,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday in a statement. “If Mr. Trump seeks escalation, it is precisely what our Powerful Armed forces have long prepared for, and what he will get,” he added. The dustup came just hours after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a prerecorded broadcast, apologized for striking Middle Eastern neighbors and said it would stop firing at countries that weren’t aiding the U.S. and Israel in their joint operation against Tehran. But Pezeshkian also said his country would not offer an unconditional surrender to the United States, calling the prospect a “dream that they should take to their grave.” Trump then lashed out at Iran’s leadership in a post on Truth Social, ripping its “bad behavior” and announcing that “today Iran will be hit very hard.” Aragachi faulted Trump for the possibility of increased fighting, saying in his post, “Responsibility for any intensification of Iran’s exercise of self-defense will lie squarely with the U.S. Administration.” The Iranian foreign minister also pointed to the war’s growing unpopularity in the U.S., goading Trump over its cost and the increased prices for Americans at the gas pump. Gas prices rose by 32 cents per gallon on Friday compared to the week prior, before the Pentagon launched its first strikes in tandem with Israel. “This is a war of choice pursued by a small cabal of ‘Israel Firsters’, and ‘Israel First’ always means ‘America Last,’” Araghchi said. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Soaring jet kerosene prices and airspace closures caused by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran are creating growing headaches for European airlines. The EU imports half of its jet fuel from the Persian Gulf, whose main exit point is the Hormuz Strait that’s currently blocked by Iran’s threat to hit any vessel that tries to pass it. As a result, jet fuel prices jumped to a 28-month high of $1,001.50 per ton in Europe, according to the specialized publication Argus, calling it a “record premium.” That puts airlines in a very difficult position, as they were able to recover from the Covid-era collapse of air travel thanks to cheap fuel. Presenting Lufthansa’s results for last year, the airline group’s CFO Till Streichert said on Friday that “low fuel costs had a positive effect. Our fuel costs fell by more than half a billion euro compared with the previous year.” Despite concerns over rising fuel prices, Lufthansa is confident that its fuel reserves will protect the airline from higher costs. But if gridlock at sea lasts, it could dry up the supply of kerosene while sending prices even higher. Fuel worries come on top of concerns that the war will also shut flight paths between Europe and Asia. The EU Aviation Safety Agency on Friday extended its request for airlines to avoid the airspace of 11 countries in the Gulf region including crucial air hubs like Dubai, Qatar and Kuwait as well as Iran, Iraq and part of Saudi Arabia. The original recommendation — issued on Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran — is now valid until March 11. “All-altitude capable air-defence systems, cruise and ballistic missiles and the use of air assets … make the entire affected airspace vulnerable to spill-over risks, misidentification, miscalculation and failure of interception procedures,” the EASA bulletin said. That recommendation leaves only a very narrow path for many airlines to fly between Europe and Asia — forcing them along Turkey’s northern Black Sea coast, then over Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea. European carriers can’t fly over war-torn Ukraine and they’ve also been barred from Russian airspace since Moscow invaded Ukraine four years ago. However, Turkish, Chinese and other Asian competitors can still overfly Russia, creating growing competition problems for EU carriers. The Ukraine war closures already forced airline groups such as Lufthansa and Air France-KLM to reroute their long-haul flights to and from Asia — increasing fuel and staffing costs. Now, even that narrow passage across Azerbaijan is at risk after the country was reportedly targeted by a drone strike near the Iranian border. In response, the Baku government closed the southern half of the country’s airspace but left the rest available to airlines. “We continue to monitor closely the overall risk and threat situation in the region and its impact on the safety of airspace, including this event,” said EASA spokesperson Janet Northcote after an attack that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called an “act of terror” from Tehran.  The Iranian government denied responsibility for the strike.

The State Department is adding resources to evacuate stranded Americans in the Middle East, and the Pentagon is scrambling to increase the number of U.S. troops gathering intelligence for operations — the latest indications that the Trump administration was not fully prepared for the broader war it is now facing. Amid criticism that the administration has been too slow to alert U.S. citizens that they should leave or help those then caught in the maelstrom, the State Department is sending extra staff to Athens to aid U.S. citizens, according to a current and former department official familiar with consular issues. A State Department official familiar with the process said Wednesday morning that the top leaders in the department had taken charge of the evacuation operation, much of which would typically be handled by consular and bureau officials. U.S. Central Command, meanwhile, is asking the Pentagon to send more military intelligence officers to its headquarters in Tampa, Florida, to support operations against Iran for at least 100 days but likely through September, according to a notification obtained by POLITICO. It’s the first known call for additional intelligence personnel for the Iran war by the administration, and a sign the Pentagon is already allocating funding for operations that may stretch long beyond President Donald Trump’s initial four-week timeline for the conflict. The rush to add people and resources to support efforts that are often organized well in advance of U.S. military action highlights how the Trump team had not fully anticipated the wide fallout of the war it launched alongside Israel on Saturday. “What we’ve seen is a completely ad hoc operation where it appeared that nobody actually understood or believed that military action was imminent,” said Gerald Feierstein, a former senior U.S. diplomat who dealt with the Middle East. “It seems like they woke up on Saturday morning and decided that they were going to start a war.” The U.S. executed a massive and multi-pronged operation with Israel that targeted Iranian security infrastructure and killed off the country’s supreme leader and other top officials. But American and Israeli officials have not yet articulated a clear end goal for the operation. Trump and his aides also have struggled to offer solid reasons why the strikes had to happen now. Iran has retaliated by firing on U.S. and other targets across the Middle East. At least six U.S. troops died at port in Kuwait, raising questions about whether their facility had been fortified well enough against the apparent drone strike. Some U.S. diplomatic facilities have also been struck, and concerns are rising that the U.S. and its Middle East allies could run low on munitions. Several of the people interviewed for this article were granted anonymity because the issue is sensitive and in some cases they were not authorized to speak publicly. The Pentagon is also trying to ship more air defenses to the region, especially smaller, less expensive counter-drone systems that the department has been developing over the last several years, a U.S. official said. The strike that killed the American troops is of particular concern for war planners because it came from a relatively cheap Shahed drone that can often fly below existing radars. The U.S. is, at least right now, using missiles that cost as much as several million dollars to defeat the drones, which cost a fraction of that. Iran has thousands of such drones in its stockpiles, and dozens of them have already punched their way through existing air defenses. Many of the counter drones the U.S. could respond with have not been used in combat, the official added, since American forces have not faced a drone threat this pervasive up to this point. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But the limited preparation to assist Americans wanting to leave the region has had the most immediate impact. While at least two U.S. embassies — in Lebanon and Israel — began sending staff and their families out in the final days before the strikes, most diplomatic missions in the region did not make such moves until after the war began. It also was Monday before the State Department issued its first major alert to Americans, urging them to “depart now” from 14 countries in the region. By that point, it was hard to get a ticket out because airspace closures had led to numerous canceled flights. The department has since expanded its alerts and evacuations to at least two other countries, Cyprus and Pakistan. “It’s been a complete dereliction of duty,” said Jeffrey Feltman, a former U.S. ambassador to Lebanon who oversaw the evacuation of thousands of American citizens from that country in 2006. “Iran is a menace without question, but there was no imminent threat to us, and yet [Trump has] left thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of Americans in harm’s way without planning how to get them out.” The State Department official familiar with the process said relatively few people at the department had been read in on the war plans. That may have contributed to the challenges on evacuation orders and travel alerts, the official acknowledged. The goal is to stabilize the situation as quickly as possible. That includes staffing up in Athens, and potentially additional places if the crisis worsens. The additional staff can help Americans who arrive on charter or other flights if they need to renew their passports, loans to help them buy tickets or even temporary lodging, the current and former State Department official familiar with consular issues said. The State Department said in a statement that a 24-7 task force set up Saturday morning had helped more than 6,500 Americans abroad with guidance on security and travel options. State also noted it had issued travel alerts to Americans about the region starting in January, though those alerts were relatively routine for a region with many turbulent spots. Dylan Johnson, the assistant secretary of State for global public affairs, wrote on X Wednesday morning that since Feb. 28, the day the war began, “over 17,500 American citizens have returned to the United States from the Middle East.” But that number appeared to include many Americans who’d left without any assistance from the State Department. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that the president had told regional leaders “that we expect their help” in getting Americans home. “The administration is already rapidly chartering flights free of charge and booking commercial options, which we expect to become increasingly available as time goes on and the success of this mission further comes to fruition,” she said. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about its broader preparations for the impact of a spreading war in the Middle East. The Trump administration has, in general, cut back the number of people involved in its national security policymaking process and reduced the meetings that would normally loop in many departments and agencies. Aside from Rubio and a handful of his top aides, much of the State Department has been left in the dark about many key decisions. Rubio also serves as national security adviser, meaning he spends much of his time at the White House. Still, current and former U.S. diplomats pointed out that the possibility the U.S. would go to war in the Middle East was not exactly a secret. The administration spent weeks dramatically ramping up its military presence in the region and issuing warnings to Iran. So people at the State Department, including political appointees in the consular affairs bureau, should have known to reduce embassy staffing and urged Americans to leave the region many days or weeks ago, some argued. “There was no reason not to prepare staff departure plans as this was ongoing, particularly since the Defense Department knew the likely Iranian military responses,” the former State Department official familiar with consular services said. “They also could have started messaging to the region about the fluid security situation.” Democrats have seized on the evacuation debacle to lambast the Trump administration. It was something of a reversal: Republicans ripped the Biden administration over its handling of the evacuation of Americans and Afghan allies in the final days of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) called for oversight hearings on the State Department’s alleged failure to plan for aiding Americans in the region. “A core function of our foreign policy is to keep Americans safe,” Coons said in a statement. “Thus far, the president’s response to this reckless incompetence has simply been ‘that’s the way it is.’” In a letter shared with POLITICO, Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee urged Rubio on Wednesday to “take more concrete steps to facilitate the departure” of American citizens and embassy personnel now in harm’s way amid the widening conflict. The lawmakers want Rubio to explain by Friday how decisions are being made about which countries require departures and what criteria determine the use of charter planes versus the need for military aircraft. They also asked what alternative evacuation options are being considered amid frequent airspace closures, among other efforts. The letter was spearheaded by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.). Several governors, including California’s Gavin Newsom, New York’s Kathy Hochul and Illinois’ JB Pritzker, have also been communicating with State Department staffers to get updates on Americans stranded in the region as the governors field calls from panicked residents. Governors’ staff questioned what the administration is doing to bring Americans back, including whether charter or military aircraft are being considered, according to a person familiar with the discussions. “Americans are stranded abroad, and we all have a responsibility to do everything in our power to safely get them home,” Pritzker wrote in a letter to Rubio on Wednesday. Daniella Cheslow, Oriana Pawlyk, Cheyanne Daniels, Shia Kapos, Nick Reisman and Jeremy B. White contributed to this report.

LONDON — Keir Starmer thought he had mastered the special relationship. Donald Trump’s Iran gambit is putting that assertion to the test. Starmer has been trying to keep his distance, repeatedly stressing the U.K. “played no role” in the joint U.S.-Israeli operation that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — though he conceded late Sunday the U.S. will be allowed to use British bases for the “specific and limited defensive purpose” of hitting missile storage depots and launchers as Iran escalated its retaliatory attacks. “We were not involved in the initial strikes on Iran and we will not join offensive action now,” Starmer said in a recorded message published on X Sunday night. The shift came after escalating threats to British troops and citizens from missile and drone attacks. Just hours after the release of Starmer’s Sunday statement, the Ministry of Defence told the Daily Mail that it was responding to a suspected drone attack on a key British airbase in Limassol, Cyprus, at midnight local time. There were no casualties. The government is also scrambling to help tens of thousands of Britons stranded in Gulf states amid airspace closures across the Middle East. Commercial interests are also at risk: A Gibraltar-flagged oil tanker was struck Sunday by “an unknown projectile” in the Strait of Hormuz near the United Arab Emirates, though the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said it was able to proceed after the resulting fire was extinguished. But Starmer’s Middle East balancing act — neither condemning nor celebrating Trump’s action, helping out but not joining in — risks pleasing no one. “The Americans would have expected the U.K. to take this position,” former Foreign Office Permanent Secretary Peter Ricketts told POLITICO. “The American system, the Pentagon and State Department, won’t have been surprised. This is a long-standing British position.” That didn’t stop Trump ally Lindsey Graham from immediately branding the U.K.’s initial understated joint response with France and Germany in the immediate wake of the strikes early Saturday “pathetic.” At home, Starmer’s ruling Labour Party, which was beaten into third place by parties to its left and right in a by-election last week, is coming under pressure to take a stand against Trump from the victors of that election, the left-wing populist Green Party — which has already declared the U.S. and Israeli strikes illegal.  “It’s quite astounding that we have a prime minister that seems to be singularly incapable of standing up to Donald Trump and letting the U.K. stand on its own two feet,” Green Party Leader Zack Polanski said in a BBC interview earlier Sunday.   It all amounts to fresh political danger for Starmer, who already faced deep questions about his ongoing leadership ahead of crucial midterm local elections in May, and for the rest of his Labour allies. WHO OWNS IT U.K. Defence Secretary John Healey was on the media rounds Sunday, but declined to answer questions about the legality of the U.S. attacks on Iran. “That is for the U.S. to set out and explain; it’s not for me,” he said.   Green Party Leader Zack Polanski listens to new MP Hannah Spencer after her victory in the Gordon and Denton by-election. Commenting on the US-Israeli strikes, Polanski said it’s the “the law of the jungle” and “an end to international law.” | Christopher Furlon/Getty Images Polanski, still riding high from last week’s blowout victory for his party, quickly seized on Healey’s equivocation. It’s the “law of the jungle” and “an end to international law,” Polanski declared Sunday. It is a criticism that will particularly sting Starmer — Britain’s former chief prosecutor. A summary of the U.K. government’s legal position, published Sunday night, stressed Britain would be solely focused on ending the threat of air and missile attacks, and allowing U.S. to use U.K. bases did not signal involvement in the broader conflict. Polanski also pointed back at Labour’s willingness to join U.S. President George W. Bush’s war in Iraq more than two decades ago, warning against any similar move now. “I don’t think the British people want to see another war in that region,” Polanski said. Starmer acknowledged the “mistakes of Iraq” in his Downing Street statement Sunday, and insisted the U.K. had “learned those lessons.” NO, BACK THE AMERICANS  Starmer’s opponents on his right came in with a different line of attack.  Earlier Sunday, leaders of the U.K.’s main right-wing parties said Britain should allow the U.S. to operate from its bases when striking Iran, amid reports Starmer had blocked their use. Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage, a close ally of Donald Trump, said in a social media post that Starmer “needs to change his mind on the use of our military bases and back the Americans in this vital fight.”  Conservative Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel endorsed the U.S. actions during a Sunday appearance on Sky and questioned why Starmer has “not actually worked with our American allies to be much more proactive.” ALREADY COUNTED OUT  Starmer remains keen to stress the U.K. is not involved in strikes on Iran. Former Conservative Middle East Minister Alistair Burt said that the U.S. and Israel would have expected Britain to take a step back in their planning.  “If you consider the nature of the individuals — [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and Trump — I suspect they would just have known that the United Kingdom would not be in a position to support unless there was some legal backing for it,” Burt said. Calvin Bailey, a Labour MP and member of the U.K. parliament’s Defence Committee, said the U.S. clearly didn’t need Britain’s help in executing its operation against Iran, and said narrative being pushed by Labour’s political opponents — “Are you with Trump or are you not?” — should be resisted. Calvin Bailey, a Labour MP and member of the U.K. parliament’s Defence Committee, said the narrative being pushed by Labour’s political opponents should be resisted. | Nicola Tree/Getty Images “If we allow people to base these things into simple us-and-them kind of questions and decisions, then they become vehicles for populism,” he said.   LOGISTICAL DANGER  But now Starmer faces the reality of what is happening in the Middle East, and how to respond. The immediate hurdle — and danger — for Starmer’s government will be helping stranded British nationals. More than 76,000 Brits have made themselves known via the U.K. government’s Register Your Presence hub — a number that is almost certain to rise in the days ahead. And senior Labour figures see merit in Britain playing a leading role in bringing stability to Iran. “It takes great strength to try to stand in the way and call for diplomatic solutions when so many have their blood up and are beating their chests on the path to all-out war, but it must be done,” said Emily Thornberry, who chairs the Commons’ Foreign Affairs Committee, adding that it won’t be “glamorous” and “the armchair generals will be furious.”  Ricketts says Britain’s lack of involvement in the immediate strikes could give London more leverage in the aftermath of the conflict.   “If the U.K. can be in the center of the post-conflict activity, then perhaps there shouldn’t be too much damage from the position we took in the actual strikes,” he said. With those tricky local council elections looming in May, Starmer may not have the luxury of a long game.

As European leaders raced to respond to the rapidly escalating conflict in the Middle East on Saturday after the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran, the crisis exposed fault lines inside Europe — and across the Atlantic. American and Israeli forces struck Iranian targets early Saturday following stalled nuclear talks with Tehran. Iran then launched retaliatory attacks across the region, prompting airspace disruptions and military alerts in multiple Persian Gulf states and raising fears of a wider Middle East conflagration. Brussels moved quickly to strike a cautious tone. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned on X that the situation was “perilous,” while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed it was “of the utmost importance” to prevent further escalation. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola also urged restraint. At the national level, however, Europe’s message was less unified. In a joint statement, France, Germany and the United Kingdom stressed they “did not participate in these strikes” by the U.S. and Israel, while condemning Iranian counterattacks and urging Tehran to seek to a “negotiated solution.” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer emulated that balancing act, saying the U.K. had “played no role” in the strikes while condemning Iran’s “abhorrent” regime and saying Washington’s “primary aim” was to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Starmer added that British planes were already in the air as part of coordinated regional defense operations. Elsewhere in Europe, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez condemned the U.S.-Israeli operation as a “unilateral military action” that risks creating a more hostile global order. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, meanwhile, took the opposite line, saying Prague “stands by our allies” and warning that Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its “support for terrorism” pose a threat to Europe. Nordic and Eastern European leaders took a more security-focused line. Sweden’s prime minister warned of a “serious escalation” and stressed it was in Europe’s interest that Tehran “is never able to develop nuclear weapons,” while also calling for restraint and respect for international law. Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Warsaw was monitoring the situation closely and preparing for “various scenarios,” adding that Polish citizens — including embassy staff in Tehran — remained secure. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy aligned more closely with Washington, praising U.S. decisiveness and arguing that “whenever there is American resolve, global criminals weaken” — a pointed message he said should resonate in Moscow. CRITICISM FROM WASHINGTON The European stance — particularly that of France, Germany and Britain — drew a blistering response from U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, underscoring the geopolitical tensions now rippling across the Atlantic. “To say I’m disappointed in the joint statement … is an understatement,” Graham wrote on X, accusing Western Europe of having “gone pathetically soft” and urging European leaders to back efforts to confront the regime in Tehran. He told the Iranian people that Trump had “heard your cries” and that “help has arrived in large measure.” The unusually sharp language highlights how the Middle East crisis is fast becoming a real-world stress test of transatlantic unity, even as European capitals try to balance support for Washington with calls for deescalation. Brussels is now shifting into crisis mode. Emergency meetings are piling up across Europe and the multilateral system, with EU ambassadors in the Political and Security Committee set to gather later Saturday in Brussels, while ambassadors from the 27 EU countries will hold an emergency meeting on Sunday, officials told POLITICO. The United Nations Security Council will meet Saturday evening with the U.K. chairing, while French President Emmanuel Macron has convened his own defense council in Paris. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called a Security College for Monday. Amid the geopolitical shocks, European officials are bracing for a confrontation that could further strain Western unity in the days and weeks ahead.

Iran launched retaliatory strikes against U.S. military bases across the Persian Gulf region, as well as against Israel, after U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran earlier Saturday. Missiles and drones hit the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet in Bahrain and other American bases in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement reported by the Iranian news agency IRNA. It also confirmed a wave of drones and missiles targeting Israel. The statement said the strikes were “in response to the American-Zionist aggression on Iranian soil.”  A U.S. official told POLITICO that air defenses intercepted Iranian missiles aimed at American bases including Al Udeied in Qatar, the U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain, Ali Salem in Kuwait and Al Dhafra in the United Arab Emirates. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates said that they intercepted Iranian missiles. The UAE saw one casualty from fallen debris, its defense ministry said. Kuwait said its army repelled Iran’s attack and that it reserves the right to respond to Iran’s aggression in “a manner commensurate with the scale and nature of this violation and in accordance with international law.” European Parliament President Roberta Metsola condemned the Iranian counterattacks, calling Tehran’s strikes on U.S. bases in Gulf countries “inexcusable and unjustifiable.” “The regime in Iran must refrain from any further escalation in any targeting of the Gulf States, Israel or European or United States nationals,” she said in a post on X. “The events unfolding in Iran must not lead to a spiral of escalation that could threaten the Middle East, Europe and beyond,” Metsola said. Israel Defense Forces have said that sirens have been activated in various parts of the country, including Tel Aviv. Most major airlines have cancelled flights to the region citing airspace closures. Paul McLeary contributed reporting to this article.