UK gives US green light for Iran missile operations from British bases
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The US was allowed to use British bases for limited strikes on Iran’s missile capabilities after Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed the plan and British Defense Secretary John Healey said on Sunday that Britain was “stepping up alongside the Americans”.
“The only way to stop the threat is to destroy the missiles at their source, their depots or the launchers used to fire the missiles,” Starmer said in a recorded statement to the nation. he said.
“The US has requested permission to use British bases for this specific and limited defense purpose,” he said. “We have decided to accept this request.”
The decision comes at a time of rising tensions in the Middle East following US and Israeli attacks on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory missile and drone strikes, raising fears of a wider regional conflict.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has signed off on a plan to use British bases for limited strikes against Iran’s missile capabilities. (Kin Cheung / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
On 28 February, following Operation Epic Fury, Starmer confirmed that British aircraft were in the skies over the Middle East today “as part of coordinated regional defense operations to protect our people, our interests and our allies”.
Healey said on Sunday that two Iranian missiles were fired in the direction of Cyprus, where Britain holds key sovereign base areas.
The Royal Air Force has confirmed that Typhoon jets operating from Qatar as part of the joint UK-Qatar Typhoon Squadron successfully intercepted an Iranian drone heading towards Qatar.
Around 300 British personnel are based at a naval facility in Bahrain, where Iranian missiles and drones have been striking nearby areas.
“We destroy drones that threaten our bases, our people or our allies,” Healey said on Sky’s “Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips” program. “We sided with the Americans. We strengthened our defense forces in the Middle East. We carry out such sorties.”
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British Defense Minister John Healey emphasized that Britain had “no part” in the American-Israeli attacks on Iran. (Peter Nicholls/Pool via Reuters)
Healey also stressed that the UK had “no role” in US and Israeli attacks on Iran and insisted that all Britain’s actions were defensive. “All our actions are about defending the UK’s interests and UK allies,” he said.
Asked whether Britain would join the US in offensive action, Healey said: “I won’t speculate.” Sky News.
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Downing Street also confirmed that Starmer and President Donald Trump spoke on the phone on February 28 about “the situation in the Middle East”, the BBC reported.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Downing Street for comment.
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