British prime minister Keir Starmer: 'We will not be drawn into the wider war.' Photograph: Brook Mitchell/PAWhen Downing Street wants to seize the news agenda, its staff call in political reporters for a scripted speech by the prime minister. But on Monday morning, the British prime minister blew all of that away – for now – at a hastily arranged media gathering. Popularity has long been an absent friend for the prime minister. That would risk direct military engagement with Iran were the Islamic regime to target passing British military vessels.

Source: The Irish Times March 16, 2026 17:25 UTC