Wes Streeting described Donald Trump’s rhetoric on Iran as “provocative, provocative and insulting” and described the failure of US–Iran peace talks as disappointing, but said the success of future talks was essential “to all our interests”.
“As always in diplomacy, you’re going to fail until you succeed,” the Health Secretary told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips on Sky News. “So even though these negotiations may not have ended in success, that doesn’t mean there’s no merit in continuing the effort.”
A fragile two-week ceasefire announced on Tuesday has been thrown into uncertainty after 21-hour talks between Washington and Tehran ended without a peace deal in the early hours of Sunday. US Vice President JD Vance, who was in Pakistan for the talks, said Iran’s refusal to commit to not developing nuclear weapons was the reason for the lack of agreement.
Keir Starmer urged both sides to “find a way” following the failure of peace talks. The prime minister also called for continuation of the ceasefire after talks with Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said on Sunday morning.
Streeting said of the talks: “Obviously when you look at the impact of the war in Iran on this country, on other countries around the world that have no part in this war, it is in all of our best interests to have a breakthrough and end this war.”
He acknowledged it had been a “tough few months” for relations between the UK and the US. He said the Iran war, disagreements over Greenland and the Chagos Islands, as well as Trump’s unbridled criticism of Britain’s defensive capabilities and personal criticism of Starmer have “undoubtedly strained” UK-US relations.
But he added: “On many other things, our interests as the UK and the US are intertwined. We are old and close friends and as democracies we share a vision and we have common security interests.”“
Asked about the rhetoric used by Trump, who last week warned Iran that “the entire civilization will die” if it did not meet his demands, Streeting said many people would have gone to bed wondering “what will happen to the Earth overnight”.
He said: “Over the past week, President Trump has said some very courageous – in Yes Minister language – inflammatory, provocative, outrageous things on social media. I think we’ve all learned that you judge President Trump by what he does, not just what he says.
“What I’m trying to say is that you have to distinguish between some of the rhetoric, which people may find shocking, and then the reality.”
Britain will host further talks next week with a coalition of countries about reopening the Strait of Hormuz shipping lanes. The meeting came as Starmer spoke to Trump about the need for a “practical plan” for ships passing through the region, and said he was “fed up” with the impact Trump’s actions in the Middle East were having on the British public.
Rachael Reeves said again on Sunday that a war in Iran “will come at a cost to British families and businesses”. Writing in the Sunday Times, Chancellor said: “These are not the costs I wanted, but these are the costs we have to respond to. As Chancellor, I have pledged that my economic approach to this crisis will be responsive to a changing world and in the national interest.”
Streeting praised Starmer’s “grit and courage” in refusing to support the initial US-Israeli attacks on Iran. He said, “There are few former British prime ministers alive today who would have made the same decision as Kiir about not getting involved in the war in Iran.”
He described criticism of the move by former Labor Prime Minister Tony Blair and others as “extraordinary”, and said: “I’m glad we didn’t get involved in this war. Imagine the extent to which we would be up to our necks in it… When the Prime Minister made this decision, he faced criticism from his predecessors. He faced criticism from people who would happily have taken his job at the next general election – Cammy Badenoch, Nigel Farage, all of them completely Have been proven wrong.”
