President Donald Trump has asked Congress to approve billions of dollars in funds for a potential military confrontation with Iran, a move that has deepened rifts within his own Republican party while British diplomats insist diplomatic channels remain open. The request, made in a closed-door meeting with congressional leaders on Tuesday, calls for a supplemental spending package to cover troop deployments, naval operations, and missile defence systems in the Persian Gulf. Sources familiar with the briefing say the sum could exceed $10bn, though the White House has declined to confirm exact figures.
For British officials, the news is as alarming as it is familiar. The Foreign Office confirmed that Ambassador Karen Pierce is in regular contact with her US counterparts, but Downing Street sources stress that London "does not support a war" and is urging de-escalation. The UK has maintained its own diplomatic mission in Tehran and continues to back the 2015 nuclear deal, from which Trump withdrew last year.
The request has exposed a bitter civil war inside the GOP. Senior Republicans, including Senator Mike Lee of Utah and Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming, have spoken out against any new military authorisation, warning that Congress must not be railroaded into an open-ended conflict. "The president has not made the case that war is necessary," Lee told reporters. Others, like Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, have defended Trump, arguing that Iran is the aggressor and America must respond.
Across the Atlantic, the British government is walking a careful line. While publicly supportive of its ally, privately there is deep concern. The Ministry of Defence has drawn up contingency plans for the protection of British shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, and RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus remains on high alert. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has described the developments as "terrifying" and called for an emergency session of Parliament.
But beyond Westminster, the real cost of this brinkmanship will be borne by ordinary people. A war with Iran would send oil prices skyrocketing, pushing up petrol prices in the UK and driving up the cost of heating and transport. For families already squeezed by a decade of wage stagnation and austerity, it would be another blow to the kitchen table.
Andrew Fisher, a taxi driver from Bradford, told me: "I can barely afford to fill my tank as it is. If this kicks off, I'm done. The country can't afford another war. We need bread, not bombs." His sentiment is echoed in living rooms and factory floors across the country. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has warned that rising energy costs could push another half a million people into poverty.
As Trump pushes for war funds, the question is not just whether Congress will comply, but whether the British government will step into the line of fire. History suggests it will. But the scars of Iraq and Afghanistan remain raw. The British public is weary of conflict that lines the pockets of defence contractors while workers struggle to keep the lights on. If diplomacy fails, the price will be paid in blood and bread.
