British Defense Secretary John Healey said Iran fired two missiles towards Cyprus, where the UK maintains military bases, warning that retaliation against Tehran was showing signs of being indiscriminate.Speaking to Trevor Phillips on Sky News, Mr Healy said: “We are certain they have not targeted our bases.” But he added that this “shows how random” Iranian retaliation is.
Footage of Iranian drone strikes has emerged, with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claiming they hit a US 5th Fleet base and a warship.
He also confirmed that 300 British military personnel were close to missile targets in Bahrain. He revealed to Sky News that “some of them were several hundred yards away from the missile strikes.”Follow the live update on the US-Israeli strikes in IranThe comments came a day after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced that the UK had ordered “planes in the skies” over the Middle East to carry out defensive operations.
Mr Haley reiterated the Prime Minister’s call for Iran to halt its actions, “roll back its increasingly indiscriminate and uncontrollable attacks in the region” and “abandon its weapons programmes”.The escalation comes in the wake of waves of missile strikes launched by the United States and Israel on Iran in what they described as pre-emptive operations targeting military infrastructure and the senior leadership, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Healey said: “Few people will mourn the death of the Ayatollah.”He added that he was more concerned about the broader regional ramifications. He referred to Iran’s activities, pointing to 20 terrorist plots on the streets of the United Kingdom organized by Tehran, the killing of tens of thousands of its citizens and the supply of 50,000 drones to Russia for use in Ukraine.He told Sky News: “Make no mistake, this is a regime that harasses other countries and can never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.”Mr. Haley declined to comment on whether the US and Israeli strikes were legal. In response to a question about the legality of this measure, he told Sky News: “Anyone who has seen the way Iran threatens us, sponsors terrorism around the world, has been a source of instability in the region, and has developed a nuclear weapons programme, can have any doubt about the nature of this regime, and the threat it poses.”Pressed again, he said: “This is something for the United States to explain and explain.
It is not my place, as UK Defense Secretary, to speak for the United Kingdom.“I can speak to the very active engagement we have in coordinated defense across the region.”He added, “Everything the United Kingdom does falls within international law.”The Defense Minister also refused to say whether Britain could be drawn into direct operations alongside the United States and Israel.Describing the UK’s current activity, he told Sky News: “When our British aircraft take off from Qatar, they protect against any missiles or drones directed towards Qatar.“When they travel from Cyprus, they do the same for Cyprus.He added: “But of course, when our planes are in the air and they see objects, missiles or drones directed at other countries, they will shoot them down.”He added that Britain is working to enhance regional stability as part of coordinated defense efforts across the Middle East.
