The UK has agreed to allow the US to use British bases to launch strikes on Iranian sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz, according to Downing Street.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer previously allowed US forces to use the bases only for defensive operations to prevent Iran from firing missiles that put British interests or lives at risk.
The expansion of targets is intended to help protect ships in the vital oil shipping channel, still on the basis of collective self-defence, as stated by Downing Street.
Reaction from World Leaders
US President Donald Trump said the UK should have acted faster, while Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed Sir Keir was putting British lives in danger.
Iran fired two ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia, but neither hit the joint US-UK base on the Chagos Islands, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal and CNN.
UK Involvement and Response
The UK will still not be directly involved in the US strikes, and Downing Street stated that the principles behind the UK's approach to the conflict remain the same.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch and Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Calum Miller have spoken out against the decision, with Badenoch calling it the "mother of all U-turns" and Miller stating that the UK is being drawn further into the conflict.
US-UK Military Cooperation
UK military planners have joined the US Central Command to look at options for getting tankers through the strait, which has been effectively closed by the threat of Iranian attacks.
According to data analysed by BBC Verify, just under 100 ships have passed through the strait since the start of March, compared to around 138 ships per day before the war.
Official Statements
A Downing Street spokesperson said that ministers agreed Iran's reckless strikes risked pushing the region further into crisis and worsening the economic impact being felt in the UK and around the world.
The Foreign Office stated that UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper had condemned Iran's reckless attacks and disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, and called for an immediate comprehensive moratorium on all attacks on civilian infrastructure.
