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US at Odds With Britain Over Decision to Halt Arms Shipments to Israel: Reports
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Photo: Reuters/Jane Barlow
US officials are reportedly at odds with their British counterparts over the UK’s decision to suspend some arms export licenses to Israel amid the Jewish state’s ongoing war with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced on Monday that the British government had suspended 30 of 350 arms export licenses with Israel, arguing that the equipment could be used to violate international humanitarian law in Gaza, the Palestinian enclave ruled by Hamas
The move has sparked friction between London and Washington, according to reports, with the latter suggesting that the British may have made reaching an end to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war more difficult.
“They assured us they wouldn’t do this,” an unnamed government source told British broadcaster ITV.
American officials feel “let down” by the UK’s announcement, according to Newsweek.
The US was made aware of Britain’s decision prior to the official Monday announcement, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Meanwhile, a senior British government source told The Times that the US had privately warned Britain against suspending arms sales, arguing it could hurt efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza.
The UK Foreign Office denied these allegations, claiming that the US has not attempted to encourage Britain to reverse its decision.
“Some ministers also criticized the announcement, with one describing it as an attempt to ‘please all sides’ that had ended up ‘pissing everyone off,’” The Times reported. “Another said the UK should be reviewing arms exports for countries such as Saudi Arabia, warning: ‘Otherwise it just looks like we’re picking out the one Jewish state.’”
US State Department spokesman Matt Miller said on Wednesday that while Washington respects London’s decision to halt weapons shipments to Israel, the US will maintain its commitment to helping the Jewish state defend itself.
“In the same way, we wouldn’t expect the UK to apply a US standard in making their determinations. They have made their determination based on UK law; we will make our determinations based on US law,” Miller told reporters.
Miller denied that the UK’s decision might affect future American arms deals with Israel, saying that the US and Britain are “different countries with different laws, different systems.”
However, Miller noted that the US is currently assessing whether the Jewish state has engaged in violations of international humanitarian law during the Israel-Hamas war.
“We have reviews that are ongoing. I don’t want to prejudge what those reviews will conclude, but we are looking at a number of possible violations of international humanitarian law, and we’ll make our own assessments based on our review of the facts and our own judgments on our laws, as well as international humanitarian law,” Miller said.
Amid backlash, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer defended the weapons halt against Israel as a “legal decision” and not an overall arms blockade.
“This is a difficult issue, I recognize that, but it’s a legal decision, not a policy decision,” Starmer said.
“We will of course stand by Israel’s right to self-defense but it’s important that we are committed to the international rule of law,” he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday condemned Britain’s decision as “shameful” but vowed to continue the war against Hamas “with or without British arms.”
“This shameful decision will not change Israel’s determination to defeat Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization that savagely murdered 1,200 people on October 7, including 14 British citizens,” Netanyahu said in a social media post. “Hamas is still holding over 100 hostages, including 5 British citizens. Instead of standing with Israel, a fellow democracy defending itself against barbarism, Britain’s misguided decision will only embolden Hamas.”
He added, “With or without British arms, Israel will win this war and secure our common future.”
Britain’s chief rabbi also criticized the government’s decision to halt several arms export licenses to the Jewish state.
“It beggars belief that the British government, a close strategic ally of Israel, has announced a partial suspension of arms licences,” Ephraim Mirvis said on X/Twitter.
He said the move would bolster unfounded claims that Israel had violated international humanitarian law.
“Sadly, this announcement will serve to encourage our shared enemies,” Mirvis said. “It will not help to secure the release of the remaining 101 hostages, nor contribute to the peaceful future we wish and pray for, for all people in the region and beyond.”
The post US at Odds With Britain Over Decision to Halt Arms Shipments to Israel: Reports first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
The Israeli army said on Saturday that a missile fired from Yemen towards Israeli territory had been “most likely successfully intercepted,” while Yemen’s Houthi forces claimed responsibility for the launch.
Israel has threatened Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement – which has been attacking Israel in what it says is solidarity with Gaza – with a naval and air blockade if its attacks on Israel persist.
The Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group was responsible for Saturday’s attack, adding that it fired a missile towards the southern Israeli city of Beersheba.
Since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis, who control most of Yemen, have been firing at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting global trade.
Most of the dozens of missiles and drones they have launched have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes.
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Iran Holds Funeral for Commanders and Scientists Killed in War with Israel
People attend the funeral procession of Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 28, 2025. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Large crowds of mourners dressed in black lined streets in Iran’s capital Tehran as the country held a funeral on Saturday for top military commanders, nuclear scientists and some of the civilians killed during this month’s aerial war with Israel.
At least 16 scientists and 10 senior commanders were among those mourned at the funeral, according to state media, including armed forces chief Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Revolutionary Guards commander General Hossein Salami, and Guards Aerospace Force chief General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.
Their coffins were driven into Tehran’s Azadi Square adorned with their photos and national flags, as crowds waved flags and some reached out to touch the caskets and throw rose petals onto them. State-run Press TV showed an image of ballistic missiles on display.
Mass prayers were later held in the square.
State TV said the funeral, dubbed the “procession of the Martyrs of Power,” was held for a total of 60 people killed in the war, including four women and four children.
In attendance were President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior figures including Ali Shamkhani, who was seriously wounded during the conflict and is an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as Khamenei’s son Mojtaba.
“Today, Iranians, through heroic resistance against two regimes armed with nuclear weapons, protected their honor and dignity, and look to the future prouder, more dignified, and more resolute than ever,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who also attended the funeral, said in a Telegram post.
There was no immediate statement from Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since the conflict began. In past funerals, he led prayers over the coffins of senior commanders ahead of public ceremonies broadcast on state television.
Israel launched the air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders as well as civilians in the worst blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s war with Iraq.
Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites, infrastructure and cities. The United States entered the war on June 22 with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
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Israel, the only Middle Eastern country widely believed to have nuclear weapons, said it aimed to prevent Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapons.
Iran denies having a nuclear weapons program. The U.N. nuclear watchdog has said it has “no credible indication” of an active, coordinated weapons program in Iran.
Bagheri, Salami and Hajizadeh were killed on June 13, the first day of the war. Bagheri was being buried at the Behesht Zahra cemetery outside Tehran mid-afternoon on Saturday. Salami and Hajizadeh were due to be buried on Sunday.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would consider bombing Iran again, while Khamenei, who has appeared in two pre-recorded video messages since the start of the war, has said Iran would respond to any future US attack by striking US military bases in the Middle East.
A senior Israeli military official said on Friday that Israel had delivered a “major blow” to Iran’s nuclear project. On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that Israel and the US “failed to achieve their stated objectives” in the war.
According to Iranian health ministry figures, 610 people were killed on the Iranian side in the war before a ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday. More than 4,700 were injured.
Activist news agency HRANA put the number of killed at 974, including 387 civilians.
Israel’s health ministry said 28 were killed in Israel and 3,238 injured.
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Pro-Palestinian Rapper Leads ‘Death to the IDF’ Chant at English Music festival
Revellers dance as Avril Lavigne performs on the Other Stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
i24 News – Chants of “death to the IDF” were heard during the English Glastonbury music festival on Saturday ahead of the appearance of the pro-Palestinian Irish rappers Kneecap.
One half of punk duo based Bob Vylan (who both use aliases to protect their privacy) shouted out during a section of their show “Death to the IDF” – the Israeli military. Videos posted on X (formerly Twitter) show the crowd responding to and repeating the cheer.
This comes after officials had petitioned the music festival to drop the band. The rap duo also expressed support for the following act, Kneecap, who the BCC refused to show live after one of its members, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – better known by stage name Mo Chara – was charged with a terror offense.
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