The ten questions Starmer must answer after the US strikes against Iran

After predicting Trump would not get involved, the PM's credibility is in tatters. From the influence of Lord Hermer over policy to our security from terrorism, the Government must clear things up

The US strikes against Iran appear to have been successful. Whether the success was total or not is yet to seen, but from what we know so far the Iranian nuclear programme has at the very least suffered a significant setback.

This can only be considered good news. For all the talk of diplomacy and de-escalation before the strikes, diplomacy had failed. As I said on the BBC on Friday night, we had known for years that the Iranians were cheating the JCPOA deal. Of course this remains a dangerous moment, but anybody who says they are against nuclear proliferation and Tehran getting the bomb – but oppose these strikes – needs to set out their alternative, because more talks would only meant more time for Iran to get nuclear weapons.

And Iran is not just another autocratic state. It is a crazy theocratic state that believes it has a religious mission. It terrorises its own population, and subjugates women in particular. It wants to destroy the state of Israel and murder the Jewish people. It is the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world, culpable for the deaths of civilians on every continent. It trains al-Qaeda terrorists and its proxies include Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.

Iran is behind attacks on shipping lanes in the Red Sea, Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman, risking world trade. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps – still not a proscribed organisation here – is a big player in international organised crime. It controls Iraqi oil and exports Iranian oil on the black market. It is involved in crypto mining and laundering, shadow banking networks, dollar smuggling from Iraq, and barter trade with Russia. The IRGC is probably the biggest drug dealer in the world, exporting heroin and other narcotics to fund militias, launder money and undermine other countries at home.

All of this demonstrates not only the criminal and terrorist nature of the Iranian state, but its reach into countries across the world. According to Ken McCallum, the Director General of MI5, “we’ve seen plot after plot here in the UK, at an unprecedented pace and scale.” Since January 2022, McCallum says MI5 has “responded to twenty Iran-backed plots presenting potentially lethal threats to British citizens and UK residents.” Just last month, the Government told us an Iranian terror attack in Britain was foiled with only hours to spare. Yvette Cooper said it was one of the biggest counter-terrorism operations seen in Britain for years.

So while the strikes were necessary for global security – and therefore welcome – they are clearly not the start and end of this story. We know there is likely to be serious blowback in the Middle East and around the world – including, potentially, within Britain. The Prime Minister dodged a statement in the House of Commons last week following the G7 – which is highly unusual – and there are unanswered questions we need the Government to answer.

1. Will the Prime Minister say he believes the strikes were legal?