Britain has not ruled out joining US and Israeli strikes on Iranian ballistic missile launch sites, western officials have indicated, as American heavy bombers make their way to UK bases ahead of attacks on Iran’s underground missile stockpiles, according to a Guardian report.
In a briefing, a western official said: “I wouldn’t rule anything out at all because we just don’t know what will happen day to day, week to week as this progresses.”
US Air Force B-2 and B-52 bombers armed with bunker-buster munitions are expected to arrive at Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire within days, from where they are expected to strike Iran’s buried missile facilities.
Any such missions could require active RAF support beyond the simple provision of the bases, officials acknowledged.
Western officials believe Iran retains several more days’ worth of ballistic missiles at current rates of fire, though continued US-Israeli strikes may degrade its ability to sustain launches.
Gulf states and regional allies have meanwhile expended significant numbers of Patriot air defence interceptors defending themselves, raising concerns about stockpile levels. “That’s why it is so important to speed up the rate at which those launches and launch sites are being targeted and destroyed,” one official said.
Britain initially stayed out of the US-Israeli bombing campaign, which began on Saturday with the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Prime Minister Keir Starmer reversed course on Sunday night, authorising the use of UK bases for missions targeting Iranian missile storage depots and launch sites, describing the move as serving a “specific and limited defensive purpose.”
Meanwhile, HMS Dragon — the Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer Starmer pledged on Tuesday would be sent to Cyprus to defend the country and UK airbases there — remains docked in Portsmouth undergoing weapons loading after a period of dry-dock maintenance.
The vessel is not expected to sail until next week. With a voyage time of five to seven days, the destroyer may not arrive until the end of next week, nearly a fortnight after RAF Akrotiri first came under attack.
A Shahed-type drone breached air defences at the base on Monday, causing minor damage when it struck the runway despite counter-drone units being deployed on site. Two further drones were intercepted later that day.
Cypriot officials have indicated the drone was launched from a Hezbollah-controlled area of Lebanon, though this has not been confirmed by the British Ministry of Defence, which has ruled out a direct launch from Iran.
(information from The Guardian)
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