Europe commits to expanding Iran campaign as Israel strikes southern Lebanon

WASHINGTON— New signs of a widening regional conflict emerged on Thursday as the war with Iran entered its sixth day, with European allies promising access to warships and military bases for the US offensive, Israel intensifying attacks against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and Kurdish forces preparing for a potential attack on northern Iran.

Iran continued its retaliatory missile and drone attacks on Israeli and US military facilities in the region. Strikes hit at least 10 “non-aggressive countries” [Iran]British Prime Minister Kier Starmer said at a press conference on Thursday.

Starmer announced new military deployments and confirmed the UK would allow American forces to use British bases for defensive operations against Iran. The move was a reversal of Starmer’s initial cautious approach, prompting criticism from President Trump: “He’s no Winston Churchill.”

Starmer said: “I have taken the decision not to participate in the first attacks of the UK, US and Israel against Iran.” “This decision was deliberate. It was in the national interest. I stand by this decision. However, the situation changed when Iran started attacking countries around the Gulf and the wider region.”

The UK will send an additional four RAF Typhoon jets to strengthen its fleet in Qatar, deploy anti-drone Wildcat helicopters to Cyprus and send the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon to the eastern Mediterranean.

The moves place Britain among the most active European partners supporting the US war effort, with Starmer warning that the conflict will likely “continue for some time”. This comes after an Iranian drone struck a British military base in Cyprus on Monday, leading to a surge in Europe’s naval resources.

The island of Cyprus, located just 250 miles from Israel in the Eastern Mediterranean, has emerged as a strategic and vulnerable nerve center in the US offensive against Iran. It hosts vital British military bases and acts as an intelligence, surveillance and logistics hub to counter Iranian influence and proxy attacks.

Italian defense minister Guido Crosetto said on Thursday that his country would follow the lead of France, Spain and the Netherlands to help defend Cyprus.

“It made sense to send a message of support to Cyprus within the EU,” he said.

Spain announced Thursday that it would send its advanced frigate Cristóbal Colón to Cyprus after initially maintaining a “no war” stance.

France also granted temporary access to US aircraft at bases on French territory, a French army general staff official told Reuters.

Germany, which has publicly rejected military involvement in the war with Iran and criticized the legality of the initial US-Israeli strikes, said Western powers should prepare to further escalate tensions.

“Europe must remain united in the face of this crisis,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told an emergency meeting of European leaders. “We will not allow ourselves to be divided while regional stability is under threat.”

Meanwhile, the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Iran’s Lebanon-based proxy and a pillar of what Iran calls the “Axis of Resistance,” has reached its highest level. Israel launched heavy air strikes on southern Lebanon overnight and issued emergency evacuation warnings for the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut.

The outbreak of hostilities in Lebanon marks the end of the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire and the opening of a major second front in the war with Iran. The clashes broke out after Hezbollah attacked Israeli military facilities with drones and rockets in retaliation for the joint US-Israeli assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Lebanese health ministry reported that at least 102 people have died so far in Israeli attacks. In the suburbs of Beirut, the Israeli army ordered residents of the Hezbollah-held district of Dahieh to “save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately.”

“Dahieh? There will be no more Dahieh,” said a young man, speaking on the phone to a family member at a media observation point in the nearby hills.

The widening conflict has also affected Ukraine, which has some of the world’s most extensive experience defending against Iranian-made Shahed drones. Such drones were used by Russia in the war against Ukraine.

The United States and other allies in Europe and the Middle East are seeking Kiev’s “expertise and practical support” to help them stop Iran’s drones, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said late Wednesday.

“Of course, any assistance we provide provides that it does not weaken our defense in Ukraine and is an investment in our diplomatic capabilities,” Zelensky said. he said in a social media post. “We are helping to protect against war those who helped us – Ukraine – to bring the war to an honorable conclusion.”

As air and sea wars intensify in the Middle East, land war may also appear on the horizon.

People came to sign a book of condolences commemorating Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the Iranian Embassy in New Delhi, India, on Thursday.

(Raj K Raj/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

The United States and Israel have stepped up coordination with Kurdish armed groups on Iran’s western border, hoping to take advantage of long-running tensions between Tehran and Kurdish groups opposing the Iranian government, Kurdish officials told The Associated Press.

Iranian forces launched missile and drone attacks on Kurdish-controlled areas in northern Iraq, following the first US-Israeli strike against Iranian targets.

These attacks targeted areas around the city of Erbil and Kurdish opposition groups operating near the Iranian border, as well as places where US military forces and diplomatic facilities are located.

Authorities have not publicly stated whether Kurdish groups will launch a cross-border operation, but security analysts say an attack on Iranian territory could open a new front in the conflict.

U.S. Central Command, meanwhile, is asking the Pentagon to send more military intelligence officers to its headquarters in Tampa, Florida, to support operations against Iran for at least 100 days, but possibly through September, according to a memo obtained by Politico.

The moves come as the House of Representatives prepares to vote on Thursday on a war powers bill that would withdraw U.S. forces from hostilities in Iran and limit the president’s authority to wage war in the region. A similar measure failed mostly along party lines in the Senate on Wednesday.

Quinton reported from Washington and Bulos from Beirut.