US bomber lands in UK after warning of surge in strikes on Iran | US-Israel war on Iran
A US bomber has landed at an RAF base in England after Washington warned that attacks on Iran would “increase dramatically”.
The 146ft B-1 Lancer, which can carry 24 cruise missiles, arrived at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire on Friday evening after Keir Starmer gave permission for US “defensive” action against Iranian missile sites at UK bases.
Armed forces chief Richard Knighton said he expected the US to launch missions from the Gloucestershire base “within the next few days”. The prime minister agreed on Sunday to allow the United States to strike Iran defensively from Fairford and Diego Garcia, the largest of the Chagos islands in the Indian Ocean.
The landing came shortly after US defense secretary Pete Hegseth warned on Thursday that attacks were “about to increase dramatically”, citing “more fighter fleets, greater defensive capabilities and more frequent bombing strikes”.
As Israeli warplanes bombed Tehran and Beirut on Friday, Donald Trump demanded Iran’s unconditional surrender and launched a new wave of retaliation against Iran, Israel and the Gulf states.
Starmer defended his decision to block the first US and Israeli strikes at the weekend, saying he stood by his decision and denying it had damaged the special relationship. The move prompted Trump to launch a personal attack on the prime minister, saying he was “no Winston Churchill”.
At a top-secret national security meeting last Friday, Starmer’s proposal to allow the US to use RAF bases to carry out defensive strikes was reportedly met with opposition from a number of cabinet ministers, including Ed Miliband, Rachel Reeves, Yvette Cooper and Shabana Mahmood, in a report later picked up by various media outlets, according to the Spectator.
Starmer insisted that “all ministers” on the national security council supported the UK’s position on the use of British bases and dismissed reports that he faced cabinet opposition led by Miliband. But the Guardian understands all options were discussed at Friday’s NSC meeting.
On Saturday morning, Sadiq Khan said Starmer “had the right to resist pressure” from the US to join attacks on Iran and heavily criticized the “war of choice”, which he said was being “carried out unilaterally without any international consensus or UN approval or any serious strategy for what happens next”.
Starmer met with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday, and the prime minister said Britain was ready to help defend the country if needed.
This comes after it faced some criticism from Gulf states and Cyprus, where a drone shot down RAF Akrotiri undetected, for not doing enough to protect regional allies and British citizens there from Iranian attacks.
The air defense destroyer HMS Dragon is not expected to sail to the Eastern Mediterranean until next week; France and Greece deployed military assets to defend Cyprus. One reason it took some time to prepare the Type 45 destroyer is that it was equipped to stay at sea for several months if necessary, rather than rushing to the Eastern Mediterranean for a short time.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch will renew her attack on Britain’s response to the war in a speech on Saturday, where she is expected to say “the allies feel they can no longer trust us”.
Badenoch sparked controversy for his claim that UK military jets were “just wandering around” in the Middle East and failed to take appropriate precautions.
Former shadow foreign secretary Andrew Mitchell told Times Radio Badenoch had “nothing to apologize for” and pointed out ministers had been slow to offer support to allies in the region.
A second government charter plane carrying British nationals from Oman touched down at Gatwick airport on Saturday as efforts continue to help people stranded in the war zone.
The latest arrivals join around 6,500 Britons who have returned from the United Arab Emirates since widespread fighting began in the region.
