Sir Keir Starmer confirms deployment of British warplanes and refuelling aircraft while flying to G7 summit
Iran warns it will strike UK, French and US bases if Western powers help Israel defend against attacks
Deployment comes after Israel launched massive air offensive on Iran’s nuclear sites, killing top commanders
Tehran retaliated with waves of drones and ballistic missiles, with explosions lighting up skies over Tel Aviv
Britain is scrambling RAF fighter jets to the Middle East as the region descends into chaos following explosive exchanges between Israel and Iran, Sir Keir Starmer revealed today.
The Prime Minister confirmed British warplanes were being deployed for “contingency support across the region” as he flew to Canada for crisis talks at the G7 summit.
Speaking to reporters aboard his plane, Sir Keir admitted the situation was “ongoing and developing” but refused to rule out British military intervention in the escalating conflict.
The dramatic deployment comes after Iran issued chilling threats to target UK, French and US military bases if Western powers help Israel defend against Iranian attacks.
MILITARY ASSETS ON THE MOVE
No10 sources revealed that refuelling aircraft have already been deployed from UK bases, with additional fast jets set to follow imminently.
The Prime Minister told reporters: “These are obviously operational decisions and the situation is ongoing and developing and therefore I’m not going to get into the precise details. But we are moving assets, we’ve already been moving assets to the region, including jets, and that is for contingency support across the region. So that is happening.”
The UK already has RAF jets stationed in the Middle East as part of Operation Shader, Britain’s ongoing military operation against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
British aircraft had started their deployment preparations on Friday morning, when it was clear the situation in the region was deteriorating – though at the time, defence sources warned there were “no plans” to help defend Israel.
IRAN’S CHILLING THREAT TO BRITAIN
The deployment decision came after Iranian state media said Tehran had warned it would target US, UK and French bases in the region if the countries help Israel thwart Iran’s strikes.
This stark warning raises the spectre of British forces being directly targeted in any wider regional conflict, potentially dragging the UK into a dangerous Middle Eastern war.
A Cobra meeting of high-level ministers was convened on Friday afternoon to discuss the situation, underlining the gravity of the crisis facing Downing Street.
EXPLOSIVE ISRAEL-IRAN EXCHANGES
The current crisis exploded into life after Israel launched early morning strikes on Iranian nuclear bases on Friday, with the Jewish state saying the barrage was necessary before Iran got any closer to building a nuclear weapon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a TV address that the operation “will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.
Israel’s attack on Iran’s Natanz Nuclear Facility completely destroyed its above-ground fuel enrichment plant where uranium was being produced, according to the International Agency for Atomic Energy (IAEA).
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Commander of the IRGC and the Commander of Iran’s Emergency Command were all eliminated in the Israeli strikes across Iran by more than 200 fighter jets.
TEHRAN’S FURIOUS RETALIATION
Iran struck back with devastating force, launching waves of drones and ballistic missiles, with explosions lighting up the skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
The IDF reported that 21 people had been injured and two were in serious condition after missiles struck Tel Aviv, with video and photos showing a number of buildings damaged or on fire.
Iran’s U.N. envoy Amir Saeid Iravani said 78 people, including senior military officials, were killed in Israel’s strikes on Iran and more than 320 people were wounded, most of them civilians.
A U.S. official and a White House official confirmed to CBS News that the United States helped Israel intercept Iranian missiles.
PM REFUSES TO REVEAL IF UK HAD WARNING
Sir Keir remained tight-lipped about whether Britain received advance warning of Israel’s attack, following reports that the UK was kept in the dark after the Government’s controversial decision to sanction two far-right Israeli ministers last week.
When pressed on whether Britain had been told in advance of Israel’s military plans, the Prime Minister said: “I’m not going to go into what information we had at the time or since. But we discuss these things intensely with our allies. But I’m not going to get into precisely what we knew, because it’s a constant flow of information between our allies, and between us and the US.”
He did reveal he had held “a good and constructive discussion with Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday, and that included discussions about the safety and security of Israel, as you would expect, between two allies.
G7 CRISIS SUMMIT
The Prime Minister made clear he would continue pressing for de-escalation and said the “intense” developments over the weekend would be discussed in detail at the G7 summit in Alberta, Canada.
Both the UK and the US have insisted they were not involved in the Israeli strikes and that the country acted unilaterally.
Tehran had been engaged in talks with the Trump administration on a deal to curb its nuclear programme to replace one that Trump abandoned in 2018. The sixth round of nuclear negotiations with the U.S., which was scheduled to take place on Sunday, June 15, 2025 in Muscat, Oman, has now been suspended.
FEARS OF WIDER REGIONAL WAR
The deployment of British forces comes amid mounting fears that the Israel-Iran confrontation could spiral into a catastrophic regional war, potentially drawing in major powers and threatening global oil supplies.
The price of crude leaped on fears of wider retaliatory attacks across the oil-producing region, although there were no reports that oil production or storage was damaged.
Military analysts warned that with both Israel and Iran now trading direct strikes on each other’s territory, the risk of miscalculation leading to all-out war has never been higher.
As British jets race towards the powder keg Middle East, the question on everyone’s lips is whether Sir Keir Starmer’s government is prepared for the potentially explosive consequences of military involvement in yet another Middle Eastern conflict.
With Iran’s chilling threat to target British bases hanging in the air, UK forces could find themselves in the firing line of a conflict that threatens to engulf the entire region.
“Prime Minister Keir Starmer holds a press conference (cropped)” — taken 1 August 2024 in London, United Kingdom, by Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street. Licensed under the United Kingdom Open Government Licence v3.0 – https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
