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Top UK official judged Iran 'posed no nuclear threat' just before war began Imran Mulla on Tue, 03/17/2026 - 14:14 Starmer's national security adviser attended US-Iran talks days before US and Israel attacked Tehran Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks to the media on the situation in the Middle East, at Downing Street in central London on 16 March (AFP) Off Britain believed Iran did not pose a nuclear threat and saw no evidence of an imminent Iranian attack on Europe when the US-Israeli attack on Iran began, it has emerged. Jonathan Powell, the prime minister's national security adviser, attended the final talks between the US and Iran, which ended two days before the attack started, the Guardian reported on Tuesday. Powell reportedly judged that Tehran's offer on its nuclear programme was "surprising" and that progress had been made. He was attending the talks at Oman's ambassadorial residence in Cologny, Geneva, as an adviser, accompanied by an expert from the UK's Cabinet Office. The Guardian reported that a former official briefed on the talks said the UK team "were surprised by what the Iranians put on the table". (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); "It was not a complete deal, but it was progress and was unlikely to be the Iranian’s final offer. The British team expected the next round of negotiations to go ahead on the basis of the progress in Geneva." The UK came to believe there was no evidence that Iran was close to securing a nuclear weapon, or that there was an imminent threat of an Iranian missile attack on Europe. Further talks were scheduled for Monday 2 March. According to the Guardian, a diplomat of unspecified nationality said there was reason to believe the US was dragged into war. "We regarded Witkoff and Kushner as Israeli assets that dragged a president into a war he wants to get out of.” The source said. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); UK-US relations strained The new revelation comes as Prime Minister Keir Starmer seeks to avoid active involvement in a war that is opposed by most of the British public. Britain has nevertheless become embroiled in the conflict to an extent, allowing the US to use British military bases for bombers en route to targeting Iranian missile sites. Relations with the US have been strained over Downing Street's initial refusal, when the war began, to allow the Americans to use the joint UK-US base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to launch strikes on Iran. UK was an 'active participant' in Israeli war crimes, Corbyn tribunal finds Read More » Powell's presence in the talks could help explain Starmer's early decision, and why he remains opposed to taking Britain fully into the war.  Whitehall sources told Middle East Eye that the Starmer government believed the US-Israeli attack had no lawful basis and joining it would be against Britain's national interest. Starmer said in an address from Downing Street on Monday morning that the Strait of Hormuz must be reopened to "ensure stability in the markets", adding "that is not a simple task". This came after Trump threatened on Sunday night that Nato faced a "very bad" future if its member states failed to help America in opening up the crucial waterway, through which a fifth of the world's oil passes - and which Iran has effectively shut in response to the US-Israeli war on the country. Starmer said the UK was working with "all of our allies" on a "viable plan" to reopen Hormuz. He added that the US-Israeli attack on Iran has "massively weakened" the military capability of the "abhorrent regime in Iran", but said there will need to be a "negotiated agreement" with the country to limit its ability to rebuild its nuclear programme and safeguard international shipping. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said on Sunday that the government is considering sending minesweeping drones rather than warships to Hormuz. Minesweeping drones trick mines into detonating safely by flying in a pattern that makes them appear to be ships. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The Guardian reported that Downing Street did not respond to its request for comment. Starmer said on Monday morning that his priority is to work to "de-escalate" the war. UK Politics News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

The president said Iran wasn’t ‘supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East’

US counterterror chief quits over Iran war, claims Iran poses 'no imminent threat'  The Jerusalem Post

'We started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby:' Trump's National Counterterrorism Center director resigns over war  Fortune

Counterterrorism center head resigns over Iran war  Nextgov/FCW

Trump counter-terrorism chief quits over Iran war, blaming Israel  The Guardian

He had IRGC’s trust while having his differences with hardliners and had huge sway with likes of China and Russia Middle East crisis – live updates If confirmed, Israel’s assassination of Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s supreme national security council and one of the linchpins of Iranian politics, would be a devastating body blow to the country and probably a bigger reverse than the loss of the supreme leader Ali Khamenei at the outset of the war. In any attempt to decapitate the Iranian leadership, Larijani would always be the prime target, largely because of his ability to straddle so many levels of Iranian politics and his huge personal influence not just in Iran but with foreign states including China and Russia. Continue reading...

Leonard Greene: Thousands dead over war in Iran — biggest casualty is compassion  TribLIVE.com

AMSTERDAM, March 17 (Reuters) - The Netherlands is investigating whether Iran was involved in the attack on a Rotterdam synagogue on Friday, Justice Minister David van Weel has said, adding that the suspects apprehended for the attack had most likely been recruited. "The possibility that Iran is involved in this attack is... being explicitly investigated", Van Weel told parliament on Tuesday, though he did not cite a conclusive link between Iran and the attack ahead of the investigation's conclusions.

MEXICO CITY, March 17 (Reuters) - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Tuesday that her country would have no problem hosting Iran's matches in the 2026 World Cup, if soccer governing body FIFA agrees. Iran's football federation has asked FIFA to move their World Cup matches to Mexico from the United States due to concerns about the safety of their players after the U.S. launched joint air strikes at the country. (Reporting by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez and Raul Cortes; Editing by Kylie Madry)

Late-night hosts discussed the Oscars, Pete Hegseth targeting ‘unpatriotic’ media and the war in Iran Late-night hosts on Monday discussed the Academy Awards, Maga’s incoherent statements on the Iran war and raised an eyebrow to Donald Trump’s claims of support from an anonymous former president. Continue reading...

Top Trump counterterror adviser resigns over Iran war: 'No imminent threat'  ABC30 Fresno

Ali Larijani, Iran's top security official, killed in airstrike, Israel says. Here's why his death is significant.  CBS News

Analysis: Iran conflict shifting from military strikes to the brink of global war  WTOP

'Deliberately attacking civilians, civilian objects amounts to war crime,' UN says after resurgence in Israeli strikes.

Middle East war live: US counterterrorism chief quits over Iran war  Financial Times

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BREAKING: National counterterrorism director resigns over Iran war  Fox News

Afghan official condemns Pakistan air strike, calling it a crime against humanity targeting civilians and addicts.