Iran attack ‘against international system’, says Swinney

The US-Israeli attack on Iran is “not compatible with the international rules-based system”, Scotland’s First Minister has said.

Speaking to the Press Association on Monday, John Swinney voiced his concern over the intervention, but stopped short of saying he considered it illegal.

His comments come as around 300,000 Britons are believed to be in countries targeted by Iran, though it is not clear how many are Scottish.

“I’m deeply concerned by the events in the Middle East over the weekend and I bear no warmth towards the Iranian regime,” he said.

“I think it is an oppressive and a repugnant regime, but when I look at the events of the last few days, it becomes evermore clear to me that the United States and Israeli action, the original action, is not compatible with the international rules-based system.

“As a consequence of that, the United Kingdom now finds itself getting dragged into this conflict, an illustration of how quickly these events can escalate from their original foundations and that’s deeply concerning.”

Pressed on whether the action was legal, the First Minister refused to say.

Mr Swinney urged those involved to turn back to diplomacy to resolve the conflict, as he doubted whether there was a plan for an end to hostilities.

“I’m obviously very concerned about the whole situation, I don’t know what the gameplan is – I’m not altogether sure anybody knows what the gameplan is in relation to this,” he said.

“What I do know is that everybody needs to step back and to get around the negotiating table and resolve these issues, because this intervention has destabilised the Middle East and that’s in nobody’s interests.”

The First Minister spoke as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer defended his decision not to allow the US access to UK bases for its initial strikes – a position which has since been reversed following pressure from Washington and states in the Gulf.

US President Donald Trump said he was “very disappointed” with the initial decision, but Sir Keir told the Commons on Monday he had a “duty to judge what is in Britain’s national interest”.

“I think the Prime Minister was right to have nothing to do with this intervention, because I don’t think the original intervention was compatible with the international rules-based system.

“The difficulty the Prime Minister now faces is that as the situation escalates and as it involves a threat to British service personnel and to British people and to bases, it now essentially brings the United Kingdom into the conflict and that is something that is of the deepest concern to me, because the threats that will be faced as a consequence of that are very significant.

“Policing the line between what is defensive action and what is offensive action is very thin indeed, but very important – and it is vital that approach is taken to ensure that we do nothing that escalates this conflict.”

It is not yet clear how many Scots are trapped in countries which have come under attack in Iran’s reprisals, the First Minister said.

“We don’t know how many people from Scotland are in the region, but we are in touch with the UK Government about the support that is available to those individuals.

“Over 100,000 people have now registered with the UK Government to say they are in that area, I would expect there to be a sizeable number of people from Scotland that will be involved – some of them will be there on a longer-term basis, some of them will be there on a short-term basis, some literally on their holidays.

“They are now caught up in an incredibly difficult and dangerous situation and one that is getting more dangerous with every day that passes.

“So we will be working with the UK Government and we have good lines of communication about the support that may well be in place for individuals and we will also be arguing for there to be a de-escalation in the conflict and an approach to negotiations to resolve these issues.”