Britain's first public response after Khamenei was "beheaded".
British Defence Secretary Healey said today (March 1) in an interview with Sky News that few people would feel sad about the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei. He said, "Iran and its long-standing regime are the source of evil, which slaughters its own citizens and funds and exports terrorism to other countries, including the UK."
This is the first public response from the British government regarding Khamenei's death, showing a subtle change in attitude. After the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran, the British Prime Minister immediately emphasized that the UK did not participate in the attack, but only participated in defensive actions, deliberately keeping distance from the US and Israel, trying to avoid Iranian retaliation, showing a cautious and risk-averse posture. However, this time, the defense minister characterized the Iranian regime as "the source of evil" and openly stated that no one would feel sad for Khamenei, completely abandoning the previous ambiguous neutrality and taking a strong stance aligned with the US and Israel.
This shift reflects Britain's balancing act between alliance responsibilities and its own security. On one hand, it does not want to completely alienate the United States and needs to maintain transatlantic relations; on the other hand, it fears Iranian retaliation and initially took steps to cut itself off for self-protection. Once the situation became clearer, the defense minister released a strong signal, which both reassured allies and retained some room for action, revealing its realistic calculation and reflecting the complex mentality and interest trade-offs within the Western camp in the Middle East conflict.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1858456522582025/
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