Boris Johnson is under fire for his silence over the Qassem Soleimani killing as the US Secretary of State slammed European nations as unhelpful following the conflict.
The assassination of the Iranian general has sent shockwaves across the world, triggering concerns of a regional war. Iran has promised revenge against the US, which ordered Friday's airstrike that killed Soleimani, the head of Iran's infamous Quds Force and one of the country's most powerful figures.
While the UK's Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace, announced on Sunday that two British Royal Navy ships would begin patrolling the Strait of Hormuz, there has been a lack of comment on the airstrike by the British Prime Minister.
Johnson - who was re-elected in December with a massive majority - has been away on holiday with his partner since before the New Year.
It's expected he will return on Monday (NZT), but he has come under fire for his silence on the incident, which is being regarded as a turning point in US-Iran relations.
The hashtag #WheresBoris has been trending on Twitter at the weekend, with many Brits confused about the silence from the country's boss. Others have noted that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has spoken repeatedly on the issue.
"When the guy who lost the election is acting more like a Prime Minister than the guy who won it," said one person.
"I honestly cannot believe that Boris Johnson, the imbecile people voted as Prime Minister, failed to turn up to work as WWIII unfolds, because he'd rather hide away from his responsibilities on a luxury holiday," said another.
Labour's shadow foreign secretary blasted Johnson in an opinion piece for The Observer. She said it was "astonishing" the Prime Minister hadn't made a statement.
"Is he afraid of angering Trump? Or is it simply that, as he lounges in the Caribbean sun, he simply does not care," she said.
It isn't just the UK annoyed by its Prime Minister. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said he is disappointed in the European reaction to the airstrike.
He said while US partners in the Middle East had been "fantastic", the Europeans "haven't been as helpful as I wish that they could be".
"The Brits, the French, the Germans all need to understand that what we did, what the Americans did, saved lives in Europe as well," he said.
The UK's foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, will meet with his US counterpart this week to talk about the airstrike. Raab has commented on it, saying all parties needed to show restraint.
The BBC reported on Saturday that Johnson was not warned about the airstrike.
The response from European leaders has been one of caution, with France saying that de-escalation was a priority. NATO - the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation - suspended training operations in Iraq, concerned about personnel safety.
Europe and the US have long had a fraught relationship on the issue of Iran. President Donald Trump's 2018 decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and impose sanctions on the Middle East nation was not warmly welcomed.
Iran's Ambassador to the UN Majid Takht Ravanchi said on Saturday that withdrawal began an economic war that has now progressed to a military one.
"Last night, they started a military war by an act of terror against one of our top generals. What else can we expect Iran to do? We cannot just remain silent, we have to act and we will act.
"The response for a military action is a military action," he said, although he refused to provide details of how that would play out.
The Trump-directed attack came after a week of heightened tension between Iran and the US. Last week, an American contractor in Iraq was killed in a rocket attack, which the US blamed on Iranian-backed militia. In response, the US killed 25 Kataeb Hezbollah fighters, leading militias to attack the US Embassy in Baghdad.
Sticking to similar lines to what the Pentagon said in a statement following the airstrike, Trump said on Saturday that the decision to strike was to "stop a war".
"Soleimani was plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel but we caught him in the act and terminated him," the president said.
Roughly 3000 additional soldiers are being sent to the Middle East following Friday's airstrike.
