UK shouldn't be allowing US to attack Iran from our airfields: Yorkshire Post Letters

A different interpretation would say he has calculated from the start that the USA doesn’t need the Strait open. In other words, America and Israel can poke the hornets’ nest with a stick and it’s then up to others to swat the angry hornets that emerge. Thus, we are all to be coopted into a crusade against Iran.

We do have another option. That is to discuss with Iran restoring neutral status for ourselves and for oil shipments coming to us. This would presumably exclude allowing bombers to attack Iran from British airfields.

But you may say, we should already be acting against Iran in support of the opposition there. Yet this war has little to do with the opposition movement. Help for them might have taken the form of gun-running across the border. It would not have required assassination of the regime leadership (in violation of Iranian self-determination) or the destruction of their airforce, navy and ballistic missile capability.

It may be politic to give at least token support to a powerful friend when they wish it: another time we may need their help. But this would not simply be helping a friend. It would be helping a friend to help their friend: the war is manifestly Israel’s, not America’s.

This would be the same kind of loyalty-chain which dragged us into Serbia’s war in 1914. In each case the basis for conflict is so fraught with moral ambiguity that any prudent country would stay out of it.

Geoff Petty, Totnes.

An irritation for us wrinklies is seeing predictable problems repeat because governments haven’t learned the lesson the first time. In 1973 the UK supported Israel, as it does now, despite it breaking international law by occupying Palestinian territories, and denying it statehood.

Iran and other Arab nations were so angered by this, that they refused to send us oil. As a result, our industries were so hard hit there was a three-day week.

Denmark learned the lesson the first time. It built wind farms to make electricity production much more independent of fossil fuels. As a result, electricity is occasionally free in Danish households because the wind turbines create a surplus.

We were slower off the mark, but we are now catching up fast, and need to strive for the energy independence provided by more cheap, clean, green energy production. It costs, but it’s worth it in the medium term for cheaper energy, and for a habitable planet. The Middle East is not a reliable source of energy. At least Labour, Lib Dems and the Greens have learned the lesson.

ME Wright, Harrogate.

Perhaps the self-proclaimed sanctity of Donald Trump and his odious cohorts explains their endless mispronunciation of 'missiles' as 'missals'; the latter being books of religious texts. How long before he tries to order American Pope Leo to conform and bless the lot of them?