The United Kingdom is solely responsible for its own foreign policy and will not comply with the directions of the United States. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper claimed this amid criticism from US President Donald Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair over the government’s position on Iran.
Government defends independent foreign policy
Cooper emphasized the fact that foreign policy should be based on real issues, not merely online debates. Governments should consider national interests instead of social media criticism.
“The thing I’ve learned doing this job is that you have to focus on substance and not on social media posts,” she said.
According to Cooper, every country has the duty to act in its own interest. The United States decides what it believes is best for Americans. In the same way, the UK government must decide what is right for Britain.
She also said that the two allies may sometimes disagree on global issues.
“The US president has the responsibility to do what he thinks is right in the US national interest. The UK prime minister must decide what is right for the UK’s national interest. That means sometimes we will disagree,” Cooper said.
Criticism grows over UK stance on Iran conflict
Cooper’s comments came during a growing dispute with Trump. He criticized Starmer for refusing at first to support US-led air strikes on Iran.
In recent social media posts, Trump argued that Britain should have backed Washington earlier. He also suggested that the UK’s role was unnecessary.
Later, Downing Street allowed limited use of British airbases for what it called defensive strikes. Jets from the Royal Air Force were also deployed. They helped protect UK allies by intercepting Iranian missiles and drones.
Lessons from past conflicts highlighted
However, the government’s cautious approach has drawn criticism from Blair. He argued that Britain should have supported the United States earlier. Cooper replied to these remarks by presenting the Iraq War as a destructive precedent. She said past mistakes show why countries must make independent decisions.
“I think the point is to make sure that we learn the lessons from some of the things that went wrong in Iraq,” she said.
