Top UK official judged Iran 'posed no nuclear threat' just before war began Submitted by Imran Mulla on Tue, 03/17/2026 - 14:14 Starmer's national security adviser attended US-Iran talks days before US and Israel attacked Tehran Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks to the media on the situation in the Middle East, at Downing Street in central London on 16 March (AFP) Off Britain believed Iran did not pose a nuclear threat and saw no evidence of an imminent Iranian attack on Europe when the US-Israeli attack on Iran began, it has emerged. Jonathan Powell, the prime minister's national security adviser, attended the final talks between the US and Iran, which ended two days before the attack started, the Guardian reported on Tuesday. Powell reportedly judged that Tehran's offer on its nuclear programme was "surprising" and that progress had been made. He was attending the talks at Oman's ambassadorial residence in Cologny, Geneva, as an adviser, accompanied by an expert from the UK's Cabinet Office. The Guardian reported that a former official briefed on the talks said the UK team "were surprised by what the Iranians put on the table". "It was not a complete deal, but it was progress and was unlikely to be the Iranian’s final offer. The British team expected the next round of negotiations to go ahead on the basis of the progress in Geneva." The UK came to believe there was no evidence that Iran was close to securing a nuclear weapon, or that there was an imminent threat of an Iranian missile attack on Europe. Further talks were scheduled for Monday 2 March. UK-US relations strained The new revelation comes as Prime Minister Keir Starmer seeks to avoid active involvement in a war that is opposed by most of the British public. Britain has nevertheless become embroiled in the conflict to an extent, allowing the US to use British military bases for bombers en route to targeting Iranian missile sites. Relations with the US have bee