Key Highlights
- “Make no mistake this is a regime that he [Khameni] has run for decades as a source of evil, it has murdered its own citizens, it has exported terror including to Britain,” Healey told ‘Sky News’.
- “Iran is lashing out in an increasingly indiscriminate and widespread way, and people will be really concerned that it’s not just military targets, but civilian airports like Kuwait … hotels in Dubai and Bahrain are being hit,” he said, adding that UK defences have been “strengthened in the region” as Britain remains “active in regional defence operations.” The defence minister stressed the UK’s airborne operations are about reinforcing “regional stability” and that the Royal Air Force (RAF) will “continue to do that and to try and reduce the risk of escalation in the future.” Healey pointed out that RAF jets are flying from Qatar and Cyprus and are protecting against Iranian missiles or drones sent toward these two countries.
- “Of course, when our planes are in the air and they see things – missiles or drones – directed towards other countries, they’ll take them down.
- “So, when I talk about Britain playing a role in reinforcing regional stability and part of coordinated regional defensive operations, that’s what I mean,” he explained.
- On Saturday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer had stated that while the United Kingdom played “no role” in the joint strikes by the US and Israel on targets in Iran, RAF jets “are in the sky” in West Asia as part of “defensive operations”.
