The UK foreign secretary has insisted that regime change in Iran is not “under consideration”, despite Donald Trump’s suggestion overnight that the country should be made “great again”.
David Lammy referenced “extensive discussions” with members of the US administration over the weekend and noted that recent military action conducted by the United States was “targeted solely at [Iran’s] nuclear facilities.”
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday morning, Lammy stated that while there is a “discussion” about regime change in Iran “that is not what’s under consideration.”
In a tense exchange, the UK foreign secretary was also questioned repeatedly on the legality of American military action against Iranian nuclear facilities.
Lammy refused to deliver a judgement and instead repeated that the United Kingdom was not involved in the strikes.
Asked if the action conducted by the United States on Saturday was “legal or illegal”, the foreign secretary responded: “Well, we weren’t involved.”
He added: “It’s for the Americans to discuss those issues. What we are involved with, and I sat in the White House last Thursday discussing with the secretary of state [Marco Rubio] our attempts, and that’s why we went on to Geneva with the Germans and the French to get the Iranians back to serious diplomacy and to once and for all, deal seriously with their nuclear programme.”
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Pressed on why the UK determined that Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was illegal, Lammy stated that there is no “moral equivalence here”.
He commented: “Vladimir Putin invaded a sovereign nation, it was crystal clear. It is for the Americans, and you can get the ambassador online, and you can discuss with him Article 2 and article 51 of the [United Nations] Charter, and you can get into that issue.
“But what I can tell you is that the UK was not involved in this military action. What we have been attempting to do is get the Iranians back to diplomacy.”
Lammy was also asked whether the military action conducted by the US was the “right thing to do.”
He responded: “You can only deal ultimately with the Iranian [nuclear] program diplomatically, and that’s because the expertise still exists in the country.
“It is likely that some of the material still exists in the country, although we’ve not yet seen the full assessment of what took place on Saturday and its effect, of course, at the sites that were attacked. But in the end, this can only be dealt with diplomatically.”
On the matter of regime change, which has been newly floated as a possibility by US president Donald Trump, Lammy stated that that approach was not “under consideration”.
In a post to his social media platform, Truth Social, on Sunday, Trump commented: “It’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change,’ but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!”
Trump’s post came after officials in his administration, including US vice president JD Vance and defence secretary Pete Hegseth, stressed they were not working to overthrow Iran’s government.
Asked for his reaction to the Truth Social post, Lammy said: “Well, I had extensive discussions with secretary of state Rubio yesterday and the day before. I listened to the press conference that was given by him and JD Vance.
“It’s clear that the acts on Saturday were targeted solely at the nuclear facilities. It’s clear from both Israel and the United States that they’re not going after the civilian leadership.
“I recognise that there’s a discussion about regime change, but that is not what’s under consideration.”
Questioned further on the issue and Trump’s position, the UK foreign secretary said: “Let’s recognise that there will be further tweets on many issues over the next three and a half years of Donald Trump’s leadership that you will be discussing… the rhetoric is strong, but actually, I can tell you, having spoken to the secretary of state, having sat in the White House, that this is targeted action to deal with Iran’s nuclear capability.
“We will get that assessment in the coming days, but in the end, this has to be dealt with diplomatically. That is what I am focused on, and that is what international partners are focused on.”
Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on Bluesky here.
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