A cabinet minister has refused to be drawn on whether the UK would support the US if it decided to take military action against Iran amid widespread protests in the country.
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said she was “not going to get into commentary on the comments from another country about their foreign policy or military plans”.
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So far, the UK government has issued statements of support to the protesters in Iran but has steered away from commenting on whether the US should intervene.
Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Ms Alexander said the UK’s priority was to “stem the violence”.
Pressed on whether the UK would support threats of “aggressive action” in Iran by the United States, Ms Alexander said: “I’m not going to get into commentary on the comments from another country about their foreign policy or military plans. I’m simply not going to do it.”
It comes amid ongoing and widespread protests against the Iranian regime that began over the failing economy but grew into opposition with the government itself.
US President Donald Trump has fuelled suggestions he could be prepared to take action against Tehran, saying Iran is “looking for freedom” and he stands “ready to help”.
His words are being interpreted with added weight after the Trump administration captured Nicolas Maduro from Venezuela. Maduro is facing drug trafficking charges in New York.
The US also launched airstrikes against Iran last summer.
In contrast to the government’s position, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has indicated she would back the UK taking military action in Iran if it took place “with a broad coalition of countries”.
In an interview with the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, Ms Badenoch said Iran would “very happily wipe out the UK if it felt it could get away with it”.
She added that Iran, which the UK regards as a hostile state, had tried to “kill people on our soil” and she did not “have an issue with removing a regime that is trying to harm us”.
Asked if it would be right for the US and its allies to be involved in regime change, Mrs Badenoch added: “Given the threat that we’re seeing to the people, I think that would be right.”
Pressed on what part the UK could play in helping to remove the regime, she suggested airstrikes similar to those carried out by the RAF against ISIS in Syria, with co-operation from France.
“Well, you’ve seen the recent RAF strikes, for instance in Syria,” she said.
“We are talking about hypothetical situations. We have worked in alliance with other countries. I think this has to be something that we do with a broad coalition of countries.
“That is the right way to do it, and to make sure that we create a stable Iran. The worst possible thing would be for this to escalate to a point where the situation gets worse, not better.”
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Tory MP and former security minister, Tom Tugendhat, told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips that the UK “shouldn’t be involved on the ground”.
“This is a matter for the Iranian people,” he said. “It’s their legitimacy. It’s their revolution.”
More than a hundred people have been killed and thousands detained in the uprising against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s rule.
The protests in Iran began on 28 December and have transformed into the most significant uprising against the regime for several years.
The internet and telephone lines have been cut off, but footage of events in Tehran and other cities has made it to social media.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said the number of confirmed fatalities had risen to 116, with 2,638 people detained.
