Iran issued an ominous warning about British lives being put ‘in danger’ after Sir Keir Starmer gave the green light for UK bases to be used for strikes against the nation.Amid mounting pressure from US President Donald Trump, government ministers announced the move on Friday (20 March) – although he scathingly said the Prime Minister ‘should have acted a lot faster’.But this really hasn’t gone down well with Iranian officials, who have chillingly warned that the country will ‘exercise its right to self-defence’.Previously, Starmer had only allowed the US to use British bases – including the one on Diego Garcia – to hit missile sites that targeted areas of our interests in the region.But on Friday, Downing Street said that bases can now be used by the States for ‘defensive operations to degrade the missile sites and capabilities being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz

‘.A spokesperson explained: “[Ministers] reaffirmed that the principles behind the UK’s approach to the conflict remain the same: the UK remains committed to defending our people, our interests and our allies, acting in accordance with international law and not getting drawn into the wider conflict. Ministers underlined the need for urgent de-escalation and a swift resolution to the war.”Trump told reporters outside of the White House that the response from the UK had been ‘very late’ in the day, saying: “I’m surprised because the relationship is so good, but this has never happened before.”They were really, pretty much our first ally, all over the world,” he said, before adding of the joint US-UK base on Diego Garcia: “They didn’t want us to use the island, the so called island, which for some reason they gave up rights to it. I was a little surprised in the UK, to be honest. They should have acted a lot faster.”