Britain must be prepared for the Iran war to continue “for some time”, the Prime Minister has said.
Sir Keir Starmer told MPs on Monday it was “hard to answer” how long the crisis would continue and he had warned his team not to fall into the “false comfort” of thinking there would be “a quick and early end to this”.
Appearing before the Liaison Committee, made up of chairs of Commons select committees, Sir Keir said he welcomed reports of talks between the US and Iran.
But asked how long he expected the conflict to continue, he said: “It’s hard to answer that question, if I’m honest about it.
“I think all our focus and energy has to be in the swift de-escalation, but we’ve got to plan on the basis that it could go on for some time, and that’s the way in which we’ll plan this afternoon.”
His appearance before the Liaison Committee came just hours after US President Donald Trump said he would “postpone” threatened strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure after “very good and productive” talks with Tehran.
Sir Keir told MPs the UK had been “aware” of the talks.
Mr Trump had threatened to obliterate Iranian power plants if Tehran did not open the Strait of Hormuz to shipping by 11.45pm on Monday.
But speaking to reporters in Florida, in the US, the president said his advisers had had talks with “a top person” in the Iranian regime, and more conversations were due to take place “at some point very soon”.
He said: “We have had very, very strong talks. We will see where they lead. We have major points of agreement, I would say almost all points of agreement.”
Sir Keir is to chair a meeting of the Government’s emergency Cobra committee on Monday to discuss how to handle the economic impact of the conflict.
The meeting is expected to involve Cabinet ministers including Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, along with Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey.
The Prime Minister told the Liaison Committee that the Cobra meeting would examine “a wider set of measures for the economy and specific sectors within the economy”, having already announced support for homes reliant on heating oil.
He also continued to play down the prospect of fuel rationing, saying the Government had no “meaningful concerns about energy supplies” while acknowledging that the price “fluctuates daily”.
Oil prices have risen above 100 US dollars a barrel since the outbreak of the conflict, sparking concerns about the impact on the cost of living in the UK.
On Monday, oil reached 114 dollars a barrel before falling back in the wake of Mr Trump’s announcement of talks to about 101 dollars.
