Report: U.S. Request to Use Bases On U.K. Territory for Pre-Emptive Iran Strike Rejected

The government was reportedly advised of the illegality of such a strike by the attorney general's office

Britain has rebuffed US pleas to use military bases in the UK to support the build-up of forces in the Gulf, citing secret legal advice which states that any pre-emptive strike on Iran could be in breach of international law.

The Guardian has been told that US diplomats have also lobbied for the use of British bases in Cyprus, and for permission to fly from US bases on Ascension Island in the Atlantic and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, both of which are British territories.