BREAKING: UK Approves Use of British Bases; UPDATE: Gulf Cooperation Council Signals It Will Join

Well, that didn’t take long, did it?

Iran’s endgame strategy, which I outlined just a few minutes ago, is going about as well as you would expect from a regime that has made nothing but terrible strategic decisions in recent years. 

The regime is flailing and striking out at everybody in the region, hoping that some regime or another would pressure the United States to stop its systematic dismantling of the regime. 

Rather than achieving that goal, Iran is bringing more countries into the coalition to depose the current regime and open up the possibility of a replacement one that is more friendly to its neighbors and the West. 

We can’t predict whether the new regime will be all that we hope—the collapse of one regime without some military force to impose the rule of the next is a risky proposition—but we can definitively say that Iran’s current leaders—or, rather, the prior ones who are now rotting in hell—miscalculated. 

🔴 Britain has given the US permission to use its military bases to strike Iran.

Read the latest updates at the link below ⬇️https://t.co/B6oFz7tz4y pic.twitter.com/oRUcC3GVEg

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 1, 2026

Keir Starmer, whose Persian-derived citizens rightly call a “wanker,” has reversed his decision to stay out of the Iran-Israel-US conflict. 

While he is not committing UK military assets to attacking Iran, he is allowing the US to strike from British bases. 

Britain has given the US permission to use its military bases to strike Iran.

Sir Keir Starmer has backed the war on Iran after Tehran continued to strike allies across the Middle East with missiles and drones.

“The United States has requested permission to use British bases for specific and limited defensive purposes,” the Prime Minister said.

“We have taken the decision to accept that request to prevent Iran firing missiles across the region, killing civilians, putting British lives at risk and hitting countries that have not been involved,” he added.

In an earlier joint statement with France and Germany, the UK suggested the three countries could support attacks on Iranian soil launched by the US and Israel for the first time.

“We will take steps to defend our interests and those of our allies in the region, potentially through enabling necessary and proportionate defensive action to destroy Iran’s capability to fire missiles and drones at their source,” the statement read.

“We have agreed to work together with the US and allies in the region on this matter.”

Starmer made this announcement in a long-winded, rather boring speech released on X: 

My update on the situation in the Middle East. pic.twitter.com/DvsOVcTDMy

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) March 1, 2026

In other news, the French have had a base struck in the region, and it announced that it is moving its aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, into the Eastern Mediterranean. 

The French have diverted an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf. I think they’re confused. We want Iran’s surrender, not France’s.

— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) March 1, 2026

Or not…Reports are conflicting, so I will update as soon as the situation becomes clearer. 

UPDATE: The Telegraph reports that France IS redeploying its carrier to the Eastern Med:

France has diverted the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier and its naval group from the Baltic Sea to the eastern Mediterranean, according to French broadcaster BFMTV.

It comes after a naval base in Abu Dhabi hosting French forces was hit by an Iranian drone strike.

Two Iranian drones struck a warehouse in the Camp de la Paix base, which is Emirati, but hosts French forces at the UAE’s invitation.

It caused a large fire but there were no casualties.

Catherine Vautrin, the French Defence Minister, posted on X: “Our forces are on the highest state of alert in a situation that is changing by the hour”.

To what extent France and the UK get involved is still unclear. Some reports indicate that they plan to get more deeply involved, while others suggest that everything they do will be to defend themselves and allies in the region. 

https://t.co/9va4o2eXD2 pic.twitter.com/dN8oQJoX8e

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) March 1, 2026

Whatever the case, Iran’s strategy of striking out at everyone has backfired big time. 

UPDATE: The GCC countries are signaling they are ready to strike Iran. 

The Gulf Cooperation Council of Arab States (GCC) – signals they may start “aggressive operations” in response to Iranian attacks on member states — a signal Saudi Arabia, UAE and others are prepared to take offensive military action against Iran to defend their security.
“They…

— Bret Baier (@BretBaier) March 1, 2026

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