Foreign Secretary calls claim that the UK is being drawn into an Iraq‑style war “simply not true”.

It is “simply not true” that the United Kingdom is being pulled into another Iraq‑style war in the Middle East, Yvette Cooper said after an RAF station in Cyprus was hit by an Iranian drone.

The strike formed part of a wave of attacks launched by Tehran across the region following a US‑Israeli operation on Saturday that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The foreign secretary confirmed that ministers were weighing options to evacuate roughly 300,000 British nationals from the area.

Britain was not involved in the initial assault, but in a statement late on Sunday, Keir Starmer announced that he had consented to let the United States use British bases to strike Iranian missile sites, aiming to curb the impact of Tehran’s retaliation.

The move sparked concern among some opposition parties, with the Liberal Democrats urging a parliamentary vote. When asked whether the UK risked being drawn into an expanding conflict with no clear objective simply because Donald Trump had requested it, Cooper replied: “That’s simply not true.”

She told Sky News on Monday: “We made a very specific decision not to back the strikes that took place over the weekend. We have been clear that we believe a diplomatic and negotiation process is required.”

With Iranian missiles and drones causing damage and casualties throughout the Gulf, as well as in Israel and Cyprus, the UK had to “recognise the responsibilities we have in terms of defensive support,” Cooper said, adding: “This concerns the defence of our partners in the Gulf and of countries where many British citizens and interests are present.

“It is a narrow, limited arrangement for the defence of Gulf states, many of which were not involved in any of the attacks on Iran. It does not target political, economic or infrastructure sites, but there is a serious issue with ballistic missiles and launchers that were effectively aimed at the Gulf, at our partner nations, and at nations where we have a large British population.”

When questioned about the safety of hundreds of thousands of UK nationals in the region, Cooper told BBC Radio 4’s *Today* programme that about 102,000 people – out of an estimated 300,000 – had registered with British authorities.

While a full evacuation is being considered, Cooper said the sheer scale of the task makes other measures more realistic. “We are deploying rapid‑response teams to the region to coordinate with the travel industry, airlines and local governments on the options that will allow people to return home safely,” she said.

“In past incidents where we have needed to bring British citizens home, the operation has usually involved far fewer people and fewer countries than the situation we face now, but we have always sought to ensure a safe return for our nationals.”