British Ambassador to the United States Christian Turner pushed back Friday on criticism that the United Kingdom was a reluctant partner in the U.S. conflict with Iran.
He told Newsmax2 that U.K. has been actively supporting operations "from Day One" despite early disagreements.
"I would say that's not the case for the U.K.," Turner told "Ike Wingate America."
"We clearly had an initial disagreement as two countries at the outset of this war about whether it was the right thing to do at that point," Turner said.
"But once the conflict started, the U.K. has taken action," he said.
Turner's comments came after critics pointed to earlier remarks from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who said, "this is not our war," and to reports that some NATO allies hesitated to assist the United States in the early stages of the conflict.
France, for example, drew scrutiny for restricting airspace access to U.S. military flights linked to operations in the region.
The ambassador outlined three primary ways Britain has supported the U.S. effort.
"First of all, it did grant basing and overflight permissions out of RAF Fairford and Diego Garcia," Turner said, noting that U.S. aircraft have been "flying sorties night after night off U.K. bases."
He added that the arrangement "allowed almost a doubling of the speed of the operation" because of the closer proximity compared to the continental United States.
"Second, of course, is our deep intelligence cooperation," Turner said.
"It's like an iceberg that sits beneath the waterline — we don't talk about it, but it's very foundational, British and American servicemen and women working together," he said.
He also highlighted British military activity in the Middle East.
"The U.K. has been flying our assets in the Middle East, F-35s, Typhoons out of both [Sovereign Base] Areas in Cyprus, and Qatar," Turner said.
"We have had more sorties than we have for 15 years, about 2,000 flying hours, something like 12 weeks of continuous flying, shooting down drones and missiles every night," he said.
Addressing the broader criticism directly, Turner acknowledged the perception, but rejected it.
"I understand the sentiment of 'where have you been,' coming late to the party," he said.
"Actually, I would say, from day one of this conflict, despite that original disagreement, I think we have really been showing what you would expect, which is the U.S. and U.K. working together."
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