Missiles fired at Cyprus and strikes ‘narrowly miss’ British troops in Bahrain as Iran ‘lashes out’ in wake of Donald Trump’s assault – whereas UK terror risk degree is ‘below overview’
Missiles have been fired at Cyprus and British troops saw a near miss in Bahrain as Iran ‘lashes out’ in the wake of Donald Trump‘s strikes, John Healey revealed today.
The Defence Secretary warned Iranian missile commanders are ‘increasingly allowed to choose their own targets’ as Tehran loses its ‘command and control’.
He also said UK officials are reviewing the terror threat level amid fears Iran could stage an attack on British soil as part of the blowback.
Iran has launched retaliatory action across the Middle East in the wake of the US and Israeli attacks, which have killed its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
It has fired missiles at Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, all of which have a US military presence, with civilian airports and hotels being hit.
Mr Healey said RAF jets flying from bases in Cyrus and Qatar were protecting UK allies in the region and would ‘take down’ missiles or drones.
He revealed that two missiles were fired in the direction of Cyrpus, while Iranian strikes landed within ‘a few hundred yards’ of British troops in Bahrain.
The Defence Secretary confirmed UK officials are on alert for new terror plots on British soil, while Chancellor Rachel Reeves is watching oil prices ‘very closely’.
Missiles have been fired at Cyprus and British troops saw a near miss in Bahrain as Iran lashes out in the wake of Donald Trump’s strikes, Defence Secretary John Healey has revealed
Some of the missiles launched from Iran are spotted in the skies over Hebron, south of Jerusalem, last night
Smoke rises in Tehran after the Iranian capital was targeted in US and Israeli attacks
Britain did not play a role in the US and Israeli strikes on Iran, but Mr Healey said ‘few people will mourn’ the Ayatollah’s death.
The Defence Secretary branded the Iranian regime ‘a source of evil’ that had been ‘sponsoring and exporting terror, including to countries like Britain’.
Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, Mr Healey said there had been 20 terror plots directed at Britain and sponsored by Iran.
The terror threat level in the UK is currently at ‘substantial’, which means an attack is judged to be ‘likely’, but there are two higher levels – ‘severe’ and ‘critical’.
Asked if the terror threat level was being reviewed as Iran retaliates to the US and Israeli strikes, the Defence Secretary said: ‘Absolutely.
‘When you get a regime like this lashing out in the Middle East indiscriminately and widely, hitting civilians and military targets.
‘When you have some of its proxies capable of other actions on their behalf then of course our force protection in the region is at its highest.
‘Our alert and vigilance in the UK is also high.’
He added: ‘This is a really serious and deteriorating situation, (with) rising risks of increasing Iranian indiscriminate retaliatory attacks.
‘Yesterday, we had 300 personnel on that Bahrain base that was attacked by Iranian missiles and drones, some of them within a few hundred yards of where they landed.
‘We had two missiles fired in the direction of Cyprus.
‘We don’t believe they were targeted at Cyprus, but nevertheless, it’s an example of how there is a very real and rising threat from a regime that is lashing out widely across the region, and that requires us to act.’
In the first Government response to the Khamenei’s death, which was confirmed by Iranian state TV early on Sunday, Mr Healey said: ‘I think few people will mourn the Ayatollah’s death.
‘Not least the family and friends of those thousands of young protesters murdered on the streets of Iranian cities.
‘Iran and the regime he’s led for so long, it’s a source of evil, murdering its own citizens and sponsoring and exporting terror, including to countries like Britain.
‘The concern now, of course, is this regime is lashing out.
‘It’s 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, and so that’s why we’ve strengthened the UK defences in the region.’
