War with Iran would strengthen militants, says Britain

London, January 7: Britain today called for calm after the United States killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani on Friday and said a war with Iran would only benefit Islamist militants across the Middle East.

 

“What we’re looking to do is to de-escalate the tensions with Iran and make sure in relation to Iraq that we don’t lose the hard-won gains that we secured against Daesh,” British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said.

“We are concerned that if we see a full-blown war it would be very damaging and actually the terrorists, in particular, Daesh (Islamic State), would be the only winners.”

“We’re working with our U.S. partners, our EU partners, that is why I’m traveling out to Brussels today, to make sure we send a very clear and consistent message on the need for de-escalation and to find a diplomatic route though.”

Also, Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed with Iraq’s Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi on the need to de-escalate tensions in the region when they spoke by phone today, according to a UK statement.

“The leaders discussed the need to deescalate tensions in the region following the death of Qassem Soleimani and agreed to work together to find a diplomatic way forward,” a statement from Johnson’s office said.

“The Prime Minister underlined the UK’s unwavering commitment to Iraq’s stability and sovereignty and emphasized the importance of the continued fight against the shared threat from Daesh.”