UK defence chief says Iranian missiles came close to British troops and bases

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The UK defence secretary, John Healey, said Iran fired two missiles towards Cyprus, where UK military facilities including RAF Akrotiri are located, warning that the security situation across the Middle East is “serious and deteriorating”.

Healey said Iran has launched 25 waves of missile and drone attacks since yesterday morning against targets in Israel, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq.

Healey said Iranian strikes landed within “a few hundred yards” of British troops in Bahrain. About 300 UK personnel were at a U.S. base there when Iranian missiles and drones struck nearby, but all were reported safe and accounted for.

He said a British counter-drone unit in Iraq also intercepted an Iranian drone heading towards a coalition base housing UK personnel. British forces in Iraq, deployed as part of a long-running counter-ISIS mission, were within around 400 metres of an Iranian missile strike, with all personnel again confirmed safe.

UK defence sources said force-protection measures at British military facilities across the region are now at their highest level.

RAF F-35 and Typhoon aircraft based in Cyprus, as well as a Typhoon squadron based in Qatar, are continuing to fly defensive missions, officials said.

Healey said two Iranian missiles were fired in the direction of Cyprus, but UK sources do not believe the projectiles were aimed at the sovereign base at RAF Akrotiri. A defence source said the situation remains “live” and the risk to personnel is real.

Healey said he was concerned that what he described as “indiscriminate attacks from Iran” were placing British personnel and citizens overseas at growing risk. When asked about the legality of U.S. strikes, he declined to comment, saying it was not for him to make that judgment.