Transport secretary ducks questions over whether UK would support US action in Iran

A furniture curate has refused to beryllium drawn connected whether the UK would enactment the US if it decided to instrumentality subject enactment against Iran amid wide protests successful the country.

Transport caput Heidi Alexander said she was "not going to get into commentary connected the comments from different state astir their overseas argumentation oregon subject plans".

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So far, the UK authorities has issued statements of enactment to the protesters successful Iran but has steered distant from commenting connected whether the US should intervene.

Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Ms Alexander said the UK's precedence was to "stem the violence".

Pressed connected whether the UK would enactment threats of "aggressive action" successful Iran by the United States, Ms Alexander said: "I'm not going to get into commentary connected the comments from different state astir their overseas argumentation oregon subject plans. I'm simply not going to bash it."

It comes amid ongoing and wide protests against the Iranian authorities that began implicit the failing system but grew into absorption with the authorities itself.

US President Donald Trump has fuelled suggestions helium could beryllium prepared to instrumentality enactment against Tehran, saying Iran is "looking for freedom" and helium stands "ready to help".

His words are being interpreted with added value aft the Trump medication captured Nicolas Maduro from Venezuela. Maduro is facing cause trafficking charges successful New York.

The US besides launched airstrikes against Iran past summer.

In opposition to the government's position, Conservative person Kemi Badenoch has indicated she would backmost the UK taking subject enactment successful Iran if it took spot "with a wide conjugation of countries".

In an interrogation with the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, Ms Badenoch said Iran would "very happily hitch retired the UK if it felt it could get distant with it".

She added that Iran, which the UK regards arsenic a hostile state, had tried to "kill radical connected our soil" and she did not "have an contented with removing a authorities that is trying to harm us".

Asked if it would beryllium close for the US and its allies to beryllium progressive successful authorities change, Mrs Badenoch added: "Given the menace that we're seeing to the people, I deliberation that would beryllium right."

Pressed connected what portion the UK could play successful helping to region the regime, she suggested airstrikes akin to those carried retired by the RAF against ISIS successful Syria, with co-operation from France.

"Well, you've seen the caller RAF strikes, for lawsuit successful Syria," she said.

"We are talking astir hypothetical situations. We person worked successful confederation with different countries. I deliberation this has to beryllium thing that we bash with a wide conjugation of countries.

"That is the close mode to bash it, and to marque definite that we make a unchangeable Iran. The worst imaginable happening would beryllium for this to escalate to a constituent wherever the concern gets worse, not better."

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Tory MP and erstwhile information minister, Tom Tugendhat, told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips that the UK "shouldn't beryllium progressive connected the ground".

"This is simply a substance for the Iranian people," helium said. "It's their legitimacy. It's their revolution."

More than a 100 radical person been killed and thousands detained successful the uprising against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's rule.

The protests successful Iran began connected 28 December and person transformed into the astir important uprising against the authorities for respective years.

The net and telephone lines person been chopped off, but footage of events successful Tehran and different cities has made it to societal media.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said the fig of confirmed fatalities had risen to 116, with 2,638 radical detained.