In the latest Express.co.uk poll, readers were asked: “Should the UK side with Angela Merkel or Donald Trump against Iran?” The poll, which ran from 4.20pm on Tuesday July 29 until 9.30am on Wednesday, July 31, saw 5,290 votes cast, with readers overwhelmingly urging Britain to side with with US President. More than three quarters (81.44 percent or 4,308 people) voted for the UK to team up with the US, while just 7.79 percent (412 readers) said Britain should join forced with Ms Merkel the rest of Europe.
Nearly one in ten of those who voted (9.3 percent or 492 readers) urged Britain to ignore both sides, while 1.47 percent (78 readers) opted for the ‘don’t know’ option.
Readers reacted with fury over the idea of the UK joining forces with the EU in the fight against Iran, especially as Germany has so far rejected an offer from the US to participate in a joint military operation.
One said: “Like we can count on the EU for anything other than trying to shaft us?
“The UK and the US have been allies since WWI – that’s over 100 years. I’d take the US over any other country any day.”
Iran news: The UK has been urged to turn its back on the EU and join forces with the US (Image: GETTY)
Iran news: The Stena Impero oil tanker was seized by Iranian troops on July 19 (Image: PA)
Another commented: “We have learned that the EU is not our friend. We need allies that will have our back.
“We cannot let Iranian aggression go uncontrolled. How many ships will they confiscate?”
A third reader added: The US is our natural ally, twice they have proved that.
“The EU is a cabal of former foes who will NEVER look to OUR interests other than spend our money to the EU.”
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Iran news: British troops were warned not to interfere in the military operation (Image: PA)
But one reader warned the UK should not have to find itself in a position to look for allies to help fight a conflict it is now central in.
They advised Britain should significantly ramp up spending in the country’s defence operations, using the £39billion from the Brexit divorce bill that could potentially be saved in a no deal exit from the EU.
The reader said: “It might help if successive UK Governments hadn’t stripped our defences to the pathetic state they are in today. They need to sort that out ASAP.
“Take the £39billion and hire more soldiers and build some ships. How can we be a world player if we can’t protect our interests?”
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Iran news: Iranian troops abseiling onto the deck of the Stena Impero (Image: PA)
Iran news: Tensions have been escalating in the Strait of Hormuz (Image: PA)
Germany has so far rejected offers to get involved in the escalating row between the UK and Iran following the seizure of the British-flagged Stena Impero oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on July 19.
On Monday, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called for a European-led task force in the fight against Tehran, but warned it is also important to have support from the US to make it “viable and effective”.
He added the issue should not become “a geopolitical dispute between the EU and the US”.
On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the US Embassy in Berlin said: “We have formally asked Germany to help along with France and the UK to secure the Strait of Hormuz and to fight Iranian aggression.”
Iran news: The Stena Impero is a British-flagged oil tanker (Image: PA)
But Germany is refusing to take part, with Chancellor Angela Merkel thought to be deeply uncomfortable involving the US in any military mission because it was Mr Trump who pulled the country out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement aimed at preventing Iran developing nuclear weapons.
Nils Schmid, who serves on the Committee of Foreign Affairs where he is the SPD parliamentary group’s spokesperson, told radio station Bayerischer Rundfunk: “As Europeans, we have attached great importance to setting ourselves apart from the military confrontational logic of the Americans in the region and to focusing on diplomacy.
“That’s why any European mission only makes sense if it keeps that distance to the very robust US action.”
He warned the British Government wants to “go the American way, which is full of dangers,” adding the more military present in the Persian Gulf, the greater the risk of errors being made.
Iran news: Tehran and London’s military power compared (Image: EXPRESS)
Mr Schmid said: “A shot can then trigger a big conflict. And then you are at the side of the US in a war against Iran, and nobody wants that.”
Rolf Mützenich, acting parliamentary leader of the SPD, told German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung involving the US in any military mission could create an “enormous escalation risk”.
He warned: “After the takeover by Boris Johnson, it remains to be seen whether the announced initiatives by the old Government are still resilient.
“Britain is now returning to a robust American-flagged military mission.”