The retaliation attacks from Iran have seen two missiles sent towards the British holiday hotspot of Cyprus, where the UK also has a military base.
Defence Secretary John Healey warned Iran is now “lashing out in an increasingly indiscriminate and widespread way after attacks to attacks on an airport in Kuwait and hotels in Dubai and Bahrain.
Iran launched attacks in the Middle East yesterday (February 28) following strikes from US and Israeli forces .
Speaking on Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Healey added that Iranian missiles and drones had landed within “a few hundred yards” of some 300 British troops at a base in Bahrain.
Two missiles had been fired in the direction of Cyprus, where thousands of UK personnel are based, Healey confirmed. It is believed they were intercepted on route.
(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
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He said: “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.”
Iranian state TV confirmed the death of 86-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei early on Sunday (March 1) as Iran continued to retaliate to the attacks by firing missiles at Gulf neighbours and Israel.
(Image: KHAMENEI.IR/AFP via Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump had previously claimed Mr Khamenei died in the attacks and urged the Iranian people to seize “the single greatest chance… to take back their country”.
Healey told Sky News: “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.”
On Saturday, Sir Keir Starmer said UK aircraft were in the sky as part of defensive operations, which continued into Sunday.
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