THE Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is calling on the government to resist getting involved in any US-led war on Iran.

Tensions in the Middle East heightened today when Iran shot down a US military surveillance drone.

Iran claimed the drone was flying over Iranian territory and had breached its territorial airspace.

The CND is urging the government to remember the “dodgy dossier” that enabled then prime minister Tony Blair to drag Britain behind the US into an illegal war on Iraq.

The US has deployed naval forces, including an aircraft carrier, to the Straits of Hormuz as it ratchets up the risk of confrontation in the region.

The US has also unilaterally imposed crippling financial sanctions on Iran and threatened any country which does not comply with them.

CND general secretary Kate Hudson said: “Claim and counter-claim continue, but the increasing escalation of tension between the US and Iran can only spell intense danger for the Middle East and beyond.

“These developments are a direct result of the US’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, trashing an effective and widely supported agreement.

“Increasing sanctions and troop movements are not the answer. The only way forward is to get back to the negotiating table.

“We remember the ‘dodgy dossier’ that took us into the war on Iraq on the coattails of the US, and this must not be allowed to happen again.

“The UK government must oppose all military intervention in Iran and urge the US to pull back from its war-mongering rhetoric and accusations.”