RAF base near beauty spot Cotswolds 'to be used by the US' as part of military operation on Iran
Keir Starmer has announced that the UK has agreed to a US request to use British military bases for "defensive" strikes on Iranian missile sites.
It is understood the US is likely to use RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for strikes on Iranian missile sites. The Prime Minister made the announcement just hours before a British RAF base in Cyprus was hit by a drone strike on Sunday night with no casualties reported.
Investigations are under way to establish where it was fired from. The attack at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus took place at around midnight local time (22:00 GMT) with the MoD later saying that "minimal damage" was caused.
In a video statement released earlier on Sunday, Sir Keir said the basis of the decision to accept the US request was the "collective self-defence" of allies and protecting British lives, accusing Iran of pursuing a "scorched-earth strategy".The Prime Minister added the US would use UK bases for the "specific and limited defensive purpose" of destroying Iran's missiles "at source".
He added that the move was in accordance with international law, and the UK government had published what it said was a summary of its legal advice. US President Donald Trump said it "may be necessary" for the US to use RAF Fairford and Diego Garcia for operations should Iran "decide not to make a deal".
Both bases have been used by the US in the past to conduct long-range heavy bombing missions. RAF Fairford is based in south Gloucestershire, near the Cotswolds. Reports have suggested the US could use RAF Fairford which can handle American heavy bombers.
British nationals are currently being advised to stay where they are and follow the instructions of local authorities and monitor the Foreign Office’s travel advice, which officials expect to change rapidly. Those in Bahrain, Israel, Palestine, Qatar and the UAE have been urged to register their presence with the Foreign Office online. More than 94,000 people, mostly in the UAE, have already registered their presence.
Posting on X on Monday, flight tracking website Flightradar24 said that currently more than 2,000 flights to and from seven key airports in the Gulf area have been cancelled. The airports are Dubai International, Hamad International Airport in Doha, Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah International Airport, Kuwait International Airport, Bahrain International Airport, and Dubai World Central - Al Maktoum International.
