O'Neill criticises decision to let US use UK bases to strike Iran

First Minister Michelle O'Neill has said she "fundamentally disagrees" with the government's approach regarding the ongoing situation in the Middle East.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer agreed to a US request to use British military bases for "defensive" strikes on Iranian missile sites.

It comes after Israel and the US struck Iran on Saturday, killing the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran responded by firing ballistic missiles and drones at US assets and allies across the region, targeting Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Speaking at Stormont, O'Neill described the events over the weekend as a "spiralling conflict" and "deeply disturbing".

She said it was "absolutely the wrong call of the British government to join in this war".

"I fundamentally disagree with the British government's approach, the fact that they have now joined this reckless war," she added.

"This is a war that should never have begun."

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said it was "absolutely right" the UK government played its part "particularly in a defensive way to protect citizens and protect against escalation".

"Lessons need to be learned from previous experiences, I think everyone wants to see peace and stability in the Middle East," she added.

"The UK must do everything it can to try now to stabilise."

On Saturday, Little-Pengelly virtually attended a briefing with senior UK government security advisers about the situation in the Middle East, alongside the first ministers of Scotland and Wales.

Little-Pengelly said O'Neill was invited to the briefing but did not attend and she did not know why.

A spokesperson for the Executive Office, which is headed by the first minister and deputy first minister, said both women were offered a meeting by the Cabinet Office.

They said the deputy first minister attended "on behalf of the Executive Office".

On Monday, O'Neill accused the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of seeking to use an "international warzone" for "political points" in the dispute over her absence from the briefing.

The Sinn Féin vice-president said she "remained engaged right over the weekend" after Stormont's unionist parties questioned why she had not attended.

O'Neill said her focus was on the safety of Irish and British citizens in the region, adding: "I would question the motives of those that try to make it political."

She added: "Only the DUP could try to use an international warzone, and to try to bring it home and cause political points.

"I just don't think that washes or is even credible in anybody's mind."

DUP leader Gavin Robinson said he was pleased his party colleague was "prepared to step up" in her role as deputy first minister.

"It's for others to speak for themselves as to why they didn't feel it was appropriate," he added.

The East Belfast MP rejected suggestions of political point-scoring over the first minister's absence from the weekend security briefing.

"It's not a game. We have seen lives lost. We have seen service personnel deployed in the Middle East in the pursuit of democracy and against the evil regime that is Iran," he said.

"I play no games when saying I'm pleased that Emma Little-Pengelly was prepared to fulfil the responsibilities of her office."

Robinson described developments in the Middle East as "hugely concerning" but added "we shed no tears for the Ayatollah."

He said the Iranian regime has "sponsored terror" in the region and elsewhere, and in the past had "strong connections with terrorists that tried to destroy Northern Ireland".