Jeremy Corbyn has warned against blaming Iran for an oil tanker attack without “credible evidence”, as he claimed the UK government’s hard-line rhetoric risked escalating conflict with Tehran.
His remarks came after the Foreign Office said it was “almost certain” that a branch of the Iranian military – the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – attacked the two tankers in the Gulf of Oman earlier this week.
“No other state or non-state actor could plausibly have been responsible,” a government assessment of the situation added.
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Donald Trump claimed on Friday the oil tanker attack had “Iran written all over it”, as the the US military released footage it said showed an unexploded mine being removed from one of the tankers by Iranian special forces.
Iranian president Hassan Rouhani hit back accusing Washington of “carrying out an aggressive policy and posing a serious threat to regional stability”, as his ministers claimed the US had made allegations “without a shred of factual or circumstantial evidence”.
1/50 14 June 2019
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan speaks at a service of remembrance at St Helens church, London, to mark the two-year anniversary of the Grenfell Tower block fire
PA
2/50 13 June 2019
Community member Desi Cranenburgh attaches her latest homemade tribute near to the site of Grenfell Tower in London, a day before the second anniversary of the fire which killed 72 people
Getty
3/50 12 June 2019
Boris Johnson during the launch of his campaign to become leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party and Prime Minister at the Royal Academy of Engineering in central London
PA
4/50 11 June 2019
Strip club dancer Celia Lister protests with other demonstrators to oppose moves to close a branch of Spearmint Rhino in Sheffield. Dancers marched through the city centre after a row developed over whether to renew Spearmint Rhino’s licence for the premises. The debate deepened after reports a video had been filmed by private investigators of sex acts taking place in the club
PA
5/50 10 June 2019
A peregrine falcon chick calls out during ringing and data collection by RSPB expert handlers in the tower at Salisbury Cathedral. Four newly hatched birds of prey are nesting along with mum and dad on the South tower.
PA
6/50 9 June 2019
England’s forward Ellen White celebrates after scoring during the France 2019 Women’s World Cup Group D football match between England and Scotland. White’s goal was England’s second of the match, which they went on to win 2-1
AFP/Getty
7/50 8 June 2019
Jason Roy celebrates his century with Joe Root. He went on to hit 153 as England scored their highest Cricket World Cup total of 386. The hosts beat Bangladesh by 106 runs to bounce back from defeat to Pakistan in their previous match
Action/Reuters
8/50 7 June 2019
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn celebrates with newly elected labour MP Lisa Forbes at Cathedral Square, Peterborough following her victory in the Peterborough by-election. The newly-formed Brexit Party lost out to Labour by 683 votes
PA
9/50 6 June 2019
Veterans observe a two minute silence at the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas, in Staffordshire, for a service to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings
PA
10/50 5 June 2019
French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Theresa May, Britain’s Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II, President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, front row from left, watch a fly past at the end of an event to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Portsmouth
Bioreports
11/50 4 June 2019
Anti-Donald Trump protesters gather with a Trump baby blimp flying over Parliament Square for a protest against the US president’s state visit to the UK
EPA
12/50 3 June 2019
Queen Elizabeth II views a display of US items of the Royal collection with US President Donald Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump at Buckingham palace
AFP/Getty
13/50 2 June 2019
Liverpool’s players celebrate with the Champions League trophy on board a parade bus after winning the final against Tottenham Hotspur, in Madrid the night before
Getty
14/50 1 June 2019
Fans gather in Madrid ahead of the all-English club Champions League Final between Tottenham and Liverpool
Reuters
15/50 31 May 2019
Racegoers during Ladies Day of the 2019 Investec Derby Festival at Epsom Racecourse, Epsom.
PA
16/50 30 May 2019
Jofra Archer celebrates taking the wicket of South Africa’s Aiden Markram during England’s opening ICC Cricket World Cup match at the Kia Oval in London. The hosts beat South Africa by 104 runs
Action/Reuters
17/50 29 May 2019
The Red Arrows in the Apollo formation while performing a full display at Chalkoutsi, Greece. The aerobatic display team have been granted formal approval on Wednesday to perform for audiences, known as Public Display Authority (PDA), to mark the official start of the Red Arrows’ 55th display season
Cpl Ashley Keates/PA
18/50 28 May 2019
British Environment Secretary Michael Gove returns to his home following a run in London.
EPA
19/50 27 May 2019
Participants throw themselves down Cooper’s Hill for the annual cheese rolling in Brockworth, Gloucestershire
PA
20/50 26 May 2019
Jason Pearce and Chris Solly lift the League One play-off trophy following Charlton’s victory against Sunderland. They will be promoted to the Championship after three years in the third tier
Getty Images
21/50 25 May 2019
Giant kites are flown by expert kite flyers during the English Heritage Kite Festival at Scarborough Castle in North Yorkshire
PA
22/50 24 May 2019
Prime Minister Theresa May reacts as she announces her resignation in London
Reuters
23/50 23 May 2019
A horse stands outside a polling station, set up in a pub, as it’s rider votes in the European Parliament elections, near Tonbridge, south east England. Voting got under way in Britain early on Thursday in elections to the European Parliament – a contest the country had not expected to hold nearly three years after the Brexit referendum
AFP/Getty
24/50 22 May 2019
Larry the cat sits in the street, at Downing Street in London
Reuters
25/50 21 May 2019
Kent make their way to the field to open the fielding on day two of the Specsavers County Championship Division One match between Kent and Surrey in Beckenham, England
Getty
26/50 20 May 2019
Karamoja the 12 day old baby Rothschild’s Giraffe pictured with its mother Orla takes its first steps outside at Chester Zoo
PA
27/50 19 May 2019
AFC Fylde celebrate after they beat Leyton Orient to win the FA Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium
Action/Reuters
28/50 18 May 2019
Great Britain’s Jade Jones celebrates with her gold medal after victory against South Korea’s Lee Ah-Reum in the final of the womens -57kg during day 3 of the World Taekwondo Championships at Manchester Arena
Getty
29/50 17 May 2019
Lulu (left) and Gulliver, two green sea turtles, are reunited after 8 months apart at Sea Life in Brighton
PA
30/50 16 May 2019
Children jump between balls in the new Children’s Garden at Kew Gardens
PA
31/50 15 May 2019
The London Fire Brigade said 10 fire engines and 70 firefighters had to tackle a blaze at a commercial building on the North Circular in Neasden, north London
London Fire Brigade/PA
32/50 14 May 2019
Conservator Restorer Jim Mitchell with part of the bronze statue of William Wallace which is being returned to the National Monument in Stirling after undergoing vital restoration work. After the statue was carefully removed in sections from the tower for the first time since its unveiling in 1887, Wallace travelled down south to Wigan-based firm, Lost Art, to begin the process of restoration. Stirling Council has invested an estimated £260,000 in the project to ensure the structure is back in peak condition ahead of the Wallace MonumentÕs 150th anniversary celebrations in September.
PA
33/50 13 May 2019
The sun rises behind The Shard and the financial district as a cyclist rides through Richmond Park in London, Britain.
Reuters
34/50 12 May 2019
Vincent Kompany lifts the Premier League trophy after Manchester City’s 4-1 victory against Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium. Manchester City held off a titanic challenge from Liverpool to become the first side in a decade to retain the Premier League
AFP/Getty
35/50 11 May 2019
Arsenal celebrate winning the Women’s Super League after beating Manchester City at Meadow Park. They secured the title the previous weekend and today’s victory means Arsenal won the league by seven points
Action/Reuters
36/50 10 May 2019
The Flying Scotsman steam train crosses the Forth Bridge on its way from Edinburgh to Inverness
PA
37/50 9 May 2019
Will Smith attending the Aladdin European Premiere held at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square, London
PA
38/50 8 May 2019
Tributes laid around the Billy McNeill statue at Celtic Park ahead of ex-player Stevie Chalmers’ funeral
PA
39/50 7 May 2019
A Tyrannosaurus animatronic model is wheeled through Chester Zoo after arriving from America. It is one of thirteen enormous animatronic predators which have been created for Chester zoo in Texas, ahead of the opening of a world first exhibition into 200 million years of lost species
PA
40/50 6 May 2019
Norwich City’s Grant Hanley holds the Championship trophy aloft as he celebrates with the crowd during their promotion parade in Norwich City Centre
PA
41/50 5 May 2019
Team Ineos lead the peloton including leader Chris Lawless as they climb a hill in Haworth, during stage four of the Tour de Yorkshire
PA
42/50 4 May 2019
Waves crash over the sea wall at Tynemouth in the north east of England. The UK is expected to be hit with cold showers, frost and strong winds across the bank holiday weekend just weeks after record-high temperatures at Easter.
PA
43/50 3 May 2019
Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable addresses the media with activists outside Chelmsford City Council Civic Centre. In local election results, the Liberal Democrats – who oppose Brexit, gained 26 seats giving them control of Chelmsford City Council in Essex, a Brexit stronghold. The two main parties, Labour and the Conservatives, lost seats. This is believed to be attributed to frustration at the lack of progress in the continuing Brexit negotiations
Getty
44/50 2 May 2019
Whipsnade Zoo’s new baby giraffe, Khari, with his mother Luna. The reticulated giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) was born to first time mum Luna and dad Bashu at midday on April 26, and his name, Khari, means ‘King-like’ in Swahili, because of his regal-looking ossicones – the tiny crown-like horns on a giraffe’s head. Giraffe calves weigh more than the twenty times the average 7lbs human when they’re born, weighing in at around 150lbs at birth
Whipsnade Zoo/PA
45/50 1 May 2019
Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange, in a prison van, as he leaves Southwark Crown Court in London. He was sentenced to 50 week in prison for breaching his bail conditions. Assange was found guilty of breaching the Bail Act in April after his arrest after spending seven years in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London
EPA
46/50 30 April 2019
Coco, aged 11, runs through 181 pairs of wellies, as they go on display to represent the average number of people rescued by The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) every week in the UK and Ireland at Potters Fields Park in London. There are 4,900 volunteer crew members supporting 238 lifeboat stations. RNLI’s annual Mayday fundraising campaign aims to raise £700,000 to fund lifesaving kit. Following the campaign, the yellow wellies from the installation will be available to purchase, in exchange for a small donation
PA
47/50 29 April 2019
Buster the Golden Retriever, belonging to David Torrance MSP, at this year’s Holyrood Dog of the Year competition, organised jointly by Dogs Trust and the Kennel Club at the Scottish Parliament Gardens in Edinburgh.
PA
48/50 28 April 2019
Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk poses with his PFA Player of the Year award
PA
49/50 27 April 2019
Cyclists lay down as they take part in the Extinction Rebellion protest at the Tate Modern in London, Britain
REUTERS
50/50 26 April 2019
Liberal Democratic Party leader Vince Cable speaks at a launch event for the party’s candidates for the European Parliament election in London
AFP/Getty
1/50 14 June 2019
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan speaks at a service of remembrance at St Helens church, London, to mark the two-year anniversary of the Grenfell Tower block fire
PA
2/50 13 June 2019
Community member Desi Cranenburgh attaches her latest homemade tribute near to the site of Grenfell Tower in London, a day before the second anniversary of the fire which killed 72 people
Getty
3/50 12 June 2019
Boris Johnson during the launch of his campaign to become leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party and Prime Minister at the Royal Academy of Engineering in central London
PA
4/50 11 June 2019
Strip club dancer Celia Lister protests with other demonstrators to oppose moves to close a branch of Spearmint Rhino in Sheffield. Dancers marched through the city centre after a row developed over whether to renew Spearmint Rhino’s licence for the premises. The debate deepened after reports a video had been filmed by private investigators of sex acts taking place in the club
PA
5/50 10 June 2019
A peregrine falcon chick calls out during ringing and data collection by RSPB expert handlers in the tower at Salisbury Cathedral. Four newly hatched birds of prey are nesting along with mum and dad on the South tower.
PA
6/50 9 June 2019
England’s forward Ellen White celebrates after scoring during the France 2019 Women’s World Cup Group D football match between England and Scotland. White’s goal was England’s second of the match, which they went on to win 2-1
AFP/Getty
7/50 8 June 2019
Jason Roy celebrates his century with Joe Root. He went on to hit 153 as England scored their highest Cricket World Cup total of 386. The hosts beat Bangladesh by 106 runs to bounce back from defeat to Pakistan in their previous match
Action/Reuters
8/50 7 June 2019
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn celebrates with newly elected labour MP Lisa Forbes at Cathedral Square, Peterborough following her victory in the Peterborough by-election. The newly-formed Brexit Party lost out to Labour by 683 votes
PA
9/50 6 June 2019
Veterans observe a two minute silence at the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas, in Staffordshire, for a service to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings
PA
10/50 5 June 2019
French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Theresa May, Britain’s Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II, President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, front row from left, watch a fly past at the end of an event to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Portsmouth
Bioreports
11/50 4 June 2019
Anti-Donald Trump protesters gather with a Trump baby blimp flying over Parliament Square for a protest against the US president’s state visit to the UK
EPA
12/50 3 June 2019
Queen Elizabeth II views a display of US items of the Royal collection with US President Donald Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump at Buckingham palace
AFP/Getty
13/50 2 June 2019
Liverpool’s players celebrate with the Champions League trophy on board a parade bus after winning the final against Tottenham Hotspur, in Madrid the night before
Getty
14/50 1 June 2019
Fans gather in Madrid ahead of the all-English club Champions League Final between Tottenham and Liverpool
Reuters
15/50 31 May 2019
Racegoers during Ladies Day of the 2019 Investec Derby Festival at Epsom Racecourse, Epsom.
PA
16/50 30 May 2019
Jofra Archer celebrates taking the wicket of South Africa’s Aiden Markram during England’s opening ICC Cricket World Cup match at the Kia Oval in London. The hosts beat South Africa by 104 runs
Action/Reuters
17/50 29 May 2019
The Red Arrows in the Apollo formation while performing a full display at Chalkoutsi, Greece. The aerobatic display team have been granted formal approval on Wednesday to perform for audiences, known as Public Display Authority (PDA), to mark the official start of the Red Arrows’ 55th display season
Cpl Ashley Keates/PA
18/50 28 May 2019
British Environment Secretary Michael Gove returns to his home following a run in London.
EPA
19/50 27 May 2019
Participants throw themselves down Cooper’s Hill for the annual cheese rolling in Brockworth, Gloucestershire
PA
20/50 26 May 2019
Jason Pearce and Chris Solly lift the League One play-off trophy following Charlton’s victory against Sunderland. They will be promoted to the Championship after three years in the third tier
Getty Images
21/50 25 May 2019
Giant kites are flown by expert kite flyers during the English Heritage Kite Festival at Scarborough Castle in North Yorkshire
PA
22/50 24 May 2019
Prime Minister Theresa May reacts as she announces her resignation in London
Reuters
23/50 23 May 2019
A horse stands outside a polling station, set up in a pub, as it’s rider votes in the European Parliament elections, near Tonbridge, south east England. Voting got under way in Britain early on Thursday in elections to the European Parliament – a contest the country had not expected to hold nearly three years after the Brexit referendum
AFP/Getty
24/50 22 May 2019
Larry the cat sits in the street, at Downing Street in London
Reuters
25/50 21 May 2019
Kent make their way to the field to open the fielding on day two of the Specsavers County Championship Division One match between Kent and Surrey in Beckenham, England
Getty
26/50 20 May 2019
Karamoja the 12 day old baby Rothschild’s Giraffe pictured with its mother Orla takes its first steps outside at Chester Zoo
PA
27/50 19 May 2019
AFC Fylde celebrate after they beat Leyton Orient to win the FA Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium
Action/Reuters
28/50 18 May 2019
Great Britain’s Jade Jones celebrates with her gold medal after victory against South Korea’s Lee Ah-Reum in the final of the womens -57kg during day 3 of the World Taekwondo Championships at Manchester Arena
Getty
29/50 17 May 2019
Lulu (left) and Gulliver, two green sea turtles, are reunited after 8 months apart at Sea Life in Brighton
PA
30/50 16 May 2019
Children jump between balls in the new Children’s Garden at Kew Gardens
PA
31/50 15 May 2019
The London Fire Brigade said 10 fire engines and 70 firefighters had to tackle a blaze at a commercial building on the North Circular in Neasden, north London
London Fire Brigade/PA
32/50 14 May 2019
Conservator Restorer Jim Mitchell with part of the bronze statue of William Wallace which is being returned to the National Monument in Stirling after undergoing vital restoration work. After the statue was carefully removed in sections from the tower for the first time since its unveiling in 1887, Wallace travelled down south to Wigan-based firm, Lost Art, to begin the process of restoration. Stirling Council has invested an estimated £260,000 in the project to ensure the structure is back in peak condition ahead of the Wallace MonumentÕs 150th anniversary celebrations in September.
PA
33/50 13 May 2019
The sun rises behind The Shard and the financial district as a cyclist rides through Richmond Park in London, Britain.
Reuters
34/50 12 May 2019
Vincent Kompany lifts the Premier League trophy after Manchester City’s 4-1 victory against Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium. Manchester City held off a titanic challenge from Liverpool to become the first side in a decade to retain the Premier League
AFP/Getty
35/50 11 May 2019
Arsenal celebrate winning the Women’s Super League after beating Manchester City at Meadow Park. They secured the title the previous weekend and today’s victory means Arsenal won the league by seven points
Action/Reuters
36/50 10 May 2019
The Flying Scotsman steam train crosses the Forth Bridge on its way from Edinburgh to Inverness
PA
37/50 9 May 2019
Will Smith attending the Aladdin European Premiere held at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square, London
PA
38/50 8 May 2019
Tributes laid around the Billy McNeill statue at Celtic Park ahead of ex-player Stevie Chalmers’ funeral
PA
39/50 7 May 2019
A Tyrannosaurus animatronic model is wheeled through Chester Zoo after arriving from America. It is one of thirteen enormous animatronic predators which have been created for Chester zoo in Texas, ahead of the opening of a world first exhibition into 200 million years of lost species
PA
40/50 6 May 2019
Norwich City’s Grant Hanley holds the Championship trophy aloft as he celebrates with the crowd during their promotion parade in Norwich City Centre
PA
41/50 5 May 2019
Team Ineos lead the peloton including leader Chris Lawless as they climb a hill in Haworth, during stage four of the Tour de Yorkshire
PA
42/50 4 May 2019
Waves crash over the sea wall at Tynemouth in the north east of England. The UK is expected to be hit with cold showers, frost and strong winds across the bank holiday weekend just weeks after record-high temperatures at Easter.
PA
43/50 3 May 2019
Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable addresses the media with activists outside Chelmsford City Council Civic Centre. In local election results, the Liberal Democrats – who oppose Brexit, gained 26 seats giving them control of Chelmsford City Council in Essex, a Brexit stronghold. The two main parties, Labour and the Conservatives, lost seats. This is believed to be attributed to frustration at the lack of progress in the continuing Brexit negotiations
Getty
44/50 2 May 2019
Whipsnade Zoo’s new baby giraffe, Khari, with his mother Luna. The reticulated giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) was born to first time mum Luna and dad Bashu at midday on April 26, and his name, Khari, means ‘King-like’ in Swahili, because of his regal-looking ossicones – the tiny crown-like horns on a giraffe’s head. Giraffe calves weigh more than the twenty times the average 7lbs human when they’re born, weighing in at around 150lbs at birth
Whipsnade Zoo/PA
45/50 1 May 2019
Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange, in a prison van, as he leaves Southwark Crown Court in London. He was sentenced to 50 week in prison for breaching his bail conditions. Assange was found guilty of breaching the Bail Act in April after his arrest after spending seven years in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London
EPA
46/50 30 April 2019
Coco, aged 11, runs through 181 pairs of wellies, as they go on display to represent the average number of people rescued by The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) every week in the UK and Ireland at Potters Fields Park in London. There are 4,900 volunteer crew members supporting 238 lifeboat stations. RNLI’s annual Mayday fundraising campaign aims to raise £700,000 to fund lifesaving kit. Following the campaign, the yellow wellies from the installation will be available to purchase, in exchange for a small donation
PA
47/50 29 April 2019
Buster the Golden Retriever, belonging to David Torrance MSP, at this year’s Holyrood Dog of the Year competition, organised jointly by Dogs Trust and the Kennel Club at the Scottish Parliament Gardens in Edinburgh.
PA
48/50 28 April 2019
Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk poses with his PFA Player of the Year award
PA
49/50 27 April 2019
Cyclists lay down as they take part in the Extinction Rebellion protest at the Tate Modern in London, Britain
REUTERS
50/50 26 April 2019
Liberal Democratic Party leader Vince Cable speaks at a launch event for the party’s candidates for the European Parliament election in London
AFP/Getty
But on his social media account, Mr Corbyn, the Labour leader, said: “Britain should act to ease tensions in the Gulf, not fuel a military escalation that began with US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement.
“Without credible evidence about the tankers attacks, the government’s rhetoric will only increase the threat of war.”
Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry later added on BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme that it was important to establish independent evidence – a call made by the UN secretary general Ańtonio Guterres.
“The idea that we are going to get enmeshed in another war is something that we really need to think about very carefully,” she said.
But Mr Corbyn was quickly rounded on by his critics, with the foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt characterising the Labour leader’s response as “pathetic and predictable”.
“From Salisbury to the Middle East, why can he never bring himself to bak British allies, British intelligence of British interests?”
Dominic Raab, who is vying to succeed Theresa May as Britain’s next prime minister alongside Mr Hunt, added: “Yet again Jeremy Corbyn allows his anti-American prejudice to skew his moral compass and political judgement.”
In a statement released on Friday, Mr Hunt added: “I condemn yesterday’s attacks on two vessels in the Gulf of Oman. Our own assessment leads us to conclude that responsibility for the attacks almost certainly lies with Iran. These latest attacks build on a pattern of destabilising Iranian behaviour and pose a serious danger to the region.”
