The Times:
Britain on a war footing as it moves combat jets to Middle East
Britain is moving combat jets and other military aircraft to the Middle East just hours after Iran threatened to strike UK military bases in the region.
Sir Keir Starmer confirmed the military build-up yesterday as he revealed he had urged Binyamin Netanyahu to avoid a full-scale war with Tehran. However, Starmer refused to say whether Britain would assist
Israel in shooting down Iranian missiles.
Speaking on his way to the G7 summit in Canada, which starts on Sunday, he said: “We are moving assets to the region, including jets, and that is for contingency support in the region. I will be clear-eyed in relation to our duties and obligations, and my duties as the prime minister of the United Kingdom.”….
The Ministry of Defence is sending an unspecified number of Eurofighter Typhoons to the region, as well as several Voyagers, which are air-to-air refuelling tankers. The UK already has a number of Typhoons and at least one #Voyager stationed in Cyprus, where they have been used in strikes on Isis militants as part of Operation Shader.
Downing Street #sources said the deployment of extra combat aircraft was a pre#cautionary measure, but the decision to bolster the UK’s military presence in the region is a clear sign that ministers increasingly fear the Israel-Iran conflict could soon drag in Israel’s western #partners…..