The US has begun using British bases for “targeted defensive operations” against Iran. The London ad
The United Kingdom government announced on Saturday that the US has begun using British military bases for certain defensive operations against Iran, in the context of the Middle East war, reports AFP.
Britain's Ministry of Defense said the US was using the bases for “targeted defensive operations to prevent Iran from launching missiles into the region”.
Initially, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer angered US President Donald Trump by refusing to get involved in any way in the war launched by the United States and Israel on Iran. “It's not Winston Churchill we're dealing with,” the White House leader said Tuesday during a Washington meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Starmer then agreed to a US request to use two British military bases for a “specific and limited defensive purpose”. These are the Fairford base in Gloucestershire, western England, and the British-American Diego Garcia base on the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean.
An AFP photographer spotted a US Air Force B-1 Lancer bomber landing at Fairford on Saturday. An American C-5 Galaxy aircraft was also seen on the base's runway, while an anti-war demonstration was taking place outside the base.
Starmer defended his initial decision not to involve the UK in war, saying there must be “always a legal basis and a viable, well-thought-out plan”.
On the other hand, the British prime minister insisted that he was right to change his position because Iran's retaliation to the attacks by the United States and Israel also threatened British interests and those of allies in the region.
