PM defends US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites

ODN

Sir Keir Starmer has insisted NATO remains committed to collective defence after US President Donald Trump cast doubt on his support for the mutual aid pact. Speaking at a press conference in the Hague, the prime minister assured the relationship between the UK and US is as strong as ever. Report by Gluszczykm. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn

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00:00It's been UK policy for decades that Iran could never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.

00:07Over the weekend, the US removed to alleviate that threat.

00:13Now, we need to make sure that the ceasefire holds

00:17and seize this opportunity to stabilise the region

00:20and get Iran back round the negotiating table with the United States.

00:26Ultimately, this is how we will ensure a complete, verifiable and irreversible end

00:34to Iran's nuclear programme.

00:37And we are using every diplomatic lever to support this effort.

00:43I'm in close contact with leaders across the region

00:45and yesterday I spoke to the Emir of Qatar to express our solidarity

00:51after Iran's reckless attack on the Al-Adea base.

00:57With the UK at the forefront,

01:00NATO allies have agreed a new defence investment pledge,

01:04raising defence and security spending to 5% of GDP by 2035,

01:11making NATO stronger, fairer and more lethal than ever.

01:16This includes military spending, as well as vital investments in our security and resilience,

01:23like protecting our cyber security and our energy networks.

01:28Allies also agreed that because the threats are constantly evolving,

01:33we will review this pledge in 2029.

01:36And that's why I've announced this week

01:39that the UK is providing hundreds more air defence missiles

01:43to protect the Ukrainian people,

01:46paid for not by the British taxpayer,

01:49but with money from frozen Russian assets.

01:53Last year, NATO allies pledged 40 billion euros of military aid for Ukraine.

02:00This year, Europe, Canada and our Indo-Pacific partners

02:06will match that 40 billion commitment euros again for 2025.

02:12We are no longer just talking about burden sharing.

02:16We're delivering it in every area.

02:19We work very closely with the United States.

02:22We have done for many years.

02:24Our teams are constantly talking to each other,

02:27as they were throughout last week.

02:30You will have observed that after I got back from Canada at the G7,

02:34I went straight into a Cobra meeting.

02:36The purpose for that was to ensure that we were ready

02:39for whatever might happen, including a strike by the US.

02:44That was of significant importance to me

02:46because, of course, in many bases across the Middle East,

02:49we are co-located with the US.

02:52Therefore, we were already taking contingency measures last Tuesday

02:57because I wanted a high level of assuredness

03:00and to be assured personally

03:02that we had in place all the necessary measures

03:04to deal with whatever the contingency may be.

03:08We were talking to and given notice by the US

03:10of their intentions all during the course of last week

03:14and we talked to them all of the time.

03:15That is the nature of the relationship between us.

03:18That is what's endured for 80 years

03:20and it's as strong now as it's ever been.

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