UK: US would need 'boots on the ground' in Iran to influence who leads the country
Mar 6th 2026
British ministers say the United States would need to put troops into Iran to influence or pick a successor to the supreme leader, while the UK will not join offensive action without legal justification and clear national interest as the US and Israel expand strikes and regional tensions and casualties rise.
- Justice Secretary David Lammy told Sky News the US would need ground forces in Iran to choose a new supreme leader if the current leadership is removed.
- Prime Minister Keir Starmer has refused to join offensive action without a legal basis, a thought through plan and clear UK national interest, while allowing defensive use of Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford.
- President Donald Trump has demanded a say in selecting Iran's next leader and called Mojtaba Khamenei an unacceptable choice.
- US and Israeli aircraft have struck targets in Iran as the conflict escalates and Gulf cities have come under renewed bombardment.
- Iranian Red Crescent Society says at least 1,230 people have been killed in Iran, including 175 schoolgirls and staff in Minab, and Lebanon's health ministry reports 77 dead.
- France has called the campaign unlawful and several European countries have refused use of their bases while some nations are deploying naval assets to the eastern Mediterranean.
- Iran's Revolutionary Guards reported they hit a US tanker and Israel warned residents of southern Beirut to evacuate ahead of further strikes.