The United Kingdom has publicly broken with Washington's threat assessment of Iran, with a senior British minister stating London has seen no evidence that Tehran is targeting Europe with ballistic missiles—directly contradicting claims made by President Donald Trump to justify military operations.
The rare transatlantic split emerged during parliamentary questions in London, when Defence Minister Sarah Atherton told MPs that British intelligence agencies "have not assessed that Iran poses an imminent missile threat to European territories." She added that President Trump "speaks for himself" regarding his March 15 deadline for Iranian compliance.
The public contradiction undermines American efforts to build a coalition for expanded military action. Trump has repeatedly claimed that Iranian missiles could strike Paris, Berlin, or London "within minutes," justifying Operation Epic Fury as defense of the broader Western alliance.
British skepticism reflects broader European unease with American intelligence assessments on Iran. France and Germany have privately expressed similar doubts, according to diplomatic sources in Brussels, though neither government has contradicted Washington as explicitly as has.




