British fast jets are flying as part of regional defensive operations in the Middle East, the Defence Secretary has confirmed, following US and Israeli strikes against Iran.

John Healey said his first priority was the safety of UK Armed Forces personnel, adding that force protection measures at British bases in the region are at the highest levels. He added that “British jets are flying today as part of regional defensive operations in the Middle East to protect our people, our interests, and our allies.”

In a subsequent statement, Healey said the UK “played no role in these strikes,” referring to the reported Israeli and US action against Iran. However, he described the Iranian regime as “abhorrent” and reiterated the government’s long-standing position that Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.

The comments come after explosions were reported in Tehran and US officials confirmed American military strikes on Iran were underway. Israel has also confirmed it carried out attacks.

The Ministry of Defence has not provided details on the type of aircraft involved or the specific bases from which they are operating, understandably.

George Allison
George Allison
George Allison is the founder and editor of the UK Defence Journal. He holds a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and specialises in naval and cyber security topics. George has appeared on national radio and television to provide commentary on defence and security issues. Twitter: @geoallison
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122 COMMENTS

  1. I see Starmer is back peddling, making big licks of an obvious minimum effort at using the Typhoons, correctly of course, for air defence of the region, Jordan and obviously the SBAs and UK forces. However did you notice on his big man speech “we player no part in the strikes” that my friends was for his domestic audience of Muslim voters who have started to slope off to the Greens!

    By not letting the US use Diego Garcia, Fairford etc he has possibly made it a little harder for US forces and the Orange man will not forget that! The Typhoons in the air is also about trying to keep Orange man happy in a desperate attempt at keeping the Chagos surrender deal moving forward!

    • No, this isn’t back-peddling. Those Typhoons are doing exactly what they were deployed to do – a deployment that occurred prior to the UK choosing not to allow American bombing raids from their bases.

      They’re not there to appease Trump, but to defend Qatar.

      • Please re-read my post, I am fully aware Typhoons were there for Op Shader and 6 more deployed last month? And you may have read my post stating it is the correct thing to do, but if you believe that there is no other ulterior motive from Starmer regarding the Chagos deal, and the fact Trump has stated if he gets no support from the UK he will fuck the deal off, then that’s up to you.

        • I have read your post.

          I’m entirely entitled to add in the information you chose to leave out, if said information is relevant. Here, it definitely is. Trying to cast the use of our Typhoons to defend Qatar as back-peddling, despite that always being the intention (not actually part of Op Shader) is disingenuous.

          • Not at all, we are all entitled to voice an opinion but it’s interesting to observe some opinions get shouted down. In my opinion Starmer is/will use the fact that having the Typhoons in the air will at best retrieve some of the goodwill he has lost with the orange man! It’s politics, they don’t care about you, or me or the country, they care about themselves and their position in authority. Anyting else is just wishful thinking.

            • You’re not being shouted down. My responses are just a visible as your own, and are in no way aggressive towards you. If you would like to point out where in my response you think that’s occurring, I’ll happily clarify my meaning.

              I don’t dispute that the political elite, regardless of nationality, is not invested in the goings-on of the everyman on anything deeper than a surface level.

              I do dispute your suggestion that the Typhoons are being flown in order to curry favour with Donald Trump. This is unsubstantiated and not particularly realistic, given, as I said above, the purpose of that deployment was specifically articulated as defending Qatar, long before the minor rift between the UK and US on this issue emerged.

              • I did not mean you were shouting me down, but on occasion when I post I have been the subject of vitriol and child like abuse from a few of the same clowns, hence why I use this site less and less. We all have different views and I’m still on the understanding we can voice them on a reasonable way cheers.

      • Will they shoot down American jets? Or Israeli ones? They should, those countries are more of a threat to us now than Russia or china, but ainbet they wont

        • Nobody on here speaks of the Iranian people killed by this Islamic dictatorship… It’s all about us… Well the lefties went nuts for Gaza but for Iranians looking for some kind of freedom nobody cares… And the weapons sold by Iran to all the terrorists in the region… I suppose this is partisan warfare…

          • Myself and a few others have been saying this since the start of the mass murders by the Iranian regime last month. All quiet by lefties when it’s mad Muslims killing Muslims but they go frantic when it’s Jews killing mad Muslims! Strange and dangerous group the various leftie groups.

          • What about the North Koreans killed by their regime? The Palestinians killed by Israel? The Ukrainians killed by Russia (or for that matter the russians killed by russia), what about the African countries killing their own, for that matter what about ICE killing Americans?

            No, saying this is a clean up of a terrible regime is bollocks, its about grabbing oil from someone perceived as weak and non nuclear armed. If anything it encourages states to develop nuclear weapons to be safe from attack.

            • Bollocks. Clearly you have no feelings for the people just politics…. Do yo want the yanks to spend money on North Korea, attack Russia? And we just sit here waiting for PEACE in the world…. Go pull down a statue if it makes you feel better.

              • Never pulled down a statue and never likely to do so. However it is worth pointing out that the people currently being killed in the middle east and now Europe, the Americans dead and even those abandoned in Ukraine are all just to distract from trump’s buffering and murdering if children

        • Silly comment, quite sad you would like to see our US and Israeli allies shot down and killed? mmmmmmmm your integrity as a genuine commentator is a little in question.

          • I hardly think it is silly. The USA is run by a puppet of Putin, one with his finger on a much stronger and bigger military. He is highly dangerousif I am polite, he has shown ZERO regard for other countries, he has invaded 2 now and threatened many more including Canada and Greenland, he is a nut job who is out of control

              • Frankly it is clear that Trump has decided no rules or shackles apply to him any more, Natanyahu decided long ago he could do anything he wants. They have joined the club with Putin. Frankly its damned difficult to see a fag papers difference between them. Worse than this Trump seems to prefer Putin to those who have spent a lifetime dancing around the USA sucking its arse, its done none of us any good, maybe its time to grow some balls.

    • The Orange man only seeks out weakness to exploit, the more you placate and cower to his behaviour the more contempt you will suffer sadly. It’s a very narrow line to play if you have any hope of keeping him happy for any time and not the faintest expectation of consistency in doing so. It’s probably only having King Charles visiting around April that retains any suppression of his contempt. As he heads towards lame duck status come November he will only hit out all the more no doubt to any one he fancies no matter how brown nosing Starmer or anyone else gets.

      • Like it or not, agree or not, this is all about politics, from the orange man and our own weak PM who is under the control of his back benchers! If Starmer can see an angle to try to raise his head out of the current hole he has dug for himself then of course he will do that!

        • Imagine a Prime Minister of parliament being under the control of his back benchers.

          It’s almost like he is an elected head of an elected chamber given the kings confidence because he can command a majority in parliament 🤔🤦‍♂️

          Much better we have a Dictator with no accountability to parliament or perhaps we could elect a president sworn to defend a constitution who then goes about whipping is ass with said constitution.

          • Nice try Jim but it’s the cabinet which are supposed to direct and make policy, with the PM, not the backbenchers who apply pressure for their own local constituent self preservation! But I’m sure we will disagree, but he go there you go.

            • Sorry Airborne but if you read the 1688 bill of rights you will see in all matters parliament is sovereign. PM can only be a PM and the cabinet can only be formed if the individual has the backing of a majority of parliament.

              The ministers of state may only pass secondary legislation. As you no doubt are aware the leader of the opposition in the UK is entitled to call a vote of no confidence in the PM at any time at which point the backbenchers are able to decide his fate.

              The Labour Party actually has a very high threshold to challenger a sitting PM relative to the Conservative Party and it’s 1922 committee so Starmar is far less beholden to backbenchers than any PM since Tony Blair but never the less a process does exist (with the backing of the opposition) to remove him at any point.

              I have met Starmer on several occasions and I can confirm he rarely gives two s**ts what backbenchers think even though it’s often to his detriment.

              It’s also worth noting that the British Priminister enjoys no legal protection in the way that president trump does and if he acts against the law and takes the UK into a illegal war he can be criminally charged and he is also open to prosecution by the ICC.

              An attack on Iran is clearly illegal how we Irans bombing of neutral countries and UK Allie’s may now change that fact.

              • Well how sad that the 1688 bill is being misused for the benefit of local backbench MPs eh! But I’m sure you trust old Starmer and he is a top bloke, and this is where you and I will disagree.

                • I’m going to be blunt. There’s something quite strange in the way that should someone express disagreement with your comment, even in quite a small, isolated section, your response seems invariably to accuse your critic of holding a naively positive opinion of the prime minister.

                  A mature conversation requires a little more nuance than your response just being:

                  ‘Oh, you’ve pointed out an error of mine? That’s nice, you must love the government’.

                  • Your reply supporting Jim is also a little strange, read his post he stated he has met Starmer and I was having a crack at that as he gave his opinion of Starmer in a positive light! Wow people become quite serious. And I don’t actually see an error in my post, as despite legislation, bills and rules, I’m sure no back bench MP ever does anything for their own end eh and move policy and direction to suit themselves and their own political circumstances. And that’s my view, which you may think is incorrect but others may not. Cheers.

              • Its fairly clear just like the Tories thd Labour Party is governing by ideology only u turning when they realise the consequences. I think anyone whos not aligned politically can see this. There could be a real irony here, after UK following the US into 2 pointless wars we may end up not following them into the one that actually resulted in real change and long term peace in the middle east. Time will tell I suspect UK and other nations will jump on the bandwagon if this ends up going the right way. Its odd but there probably quite a few people and MPs in this country who would like this go wrong for Trump. So they would rather see Trump embarrassed than a free Persian people. That’s quite disturbing.

            • No, sorry, he is right. The PM is not there to ‘rule’ or even direct policy, parliament is there to defend and represent us, including the PM who is merely an MP himself.

              • He may be right, I did not say otherwise, but if you think that back bench MPs only do things for the good of the country, and never lobby for themselves and their position, then your political naivety maybe is coming to the fore.

                • The Yeovil MP is critically concerned at the lack of mass or even any medium helicopter in the RAF SHF…..he’s having sleepless nights.

                • Of course they are lobbied, they are on backhanders as well. the whole system is as corrupt as any place, if you have the opportunity to shape events, the opportunity to alter policy then yoou are someone that people will try to bribe, and in most cases they will succeed i nbribing them. The thing is that if you want to brbe a PM that rules over everything without a care about anyone else its just one brib to one person, if you have to sort out 600 odd MPs than you have a bigger problem and bigger risk. Putin can blackmail trump over Epstein and the rest at the same time a carrot to go with the stick of oil or minerals. – aka more wealth.

      • The king should not go, with ice around he’s not safe in the USA, no one is, for that reason we should cancel participation in the football world cup and ban fans from attending, the foreign office should immediately put the USA on the list of countries that are considered dangerous
        This continual kowtowing to an aggressive unpleasant country is ridiculous as is our inability to realise we should stop spending in benefits, start taxing the rich harshly (a wealth tax if 90 percent to start with) and to have spending on the NHS and concentrate all that money on immediate military spending on UK produced arms, planes, ships, tanks because we are in world war 3 and our enemies are Russia and the USA because they are both run by the same person, outin

        • And then all the “rich” aka wealth creators leave within 12 months, the ones who pay most tax, and then what happens, your MPs who represent us increase everyone else tax in a desperate measure to raise the lost revenue! Obviously it’s much more complicated than that (something the hard left don’t understand) but you are correct insofar money needs to be found to fund a correct level of defence.

          • So the rich leave.
            The rich who employ people?
            Who invest.
            Who created wealth? For themselves, sure, but also through employing and paying tax.
            Lots of tax.
            And then HMG will have to increase taxes on everyone else.
            Tell me, how many people do “peasants on benefits” employ?
            Because seeing the utter crap those with issues of class war ( Labour to a tee ) come out with, you’d think back to the days of the peasants of the USSR, all the same, all poor, but all together is an utopia?
            A nation on benefits, all dependent on the state, enterprise driven away, and the rich taking their wealth elsewhere.
            Because that’s what they do, and can, and will.
            A poor nation on benefits. A bit like Venezuela?
            And good old JC held them up as a fine example of a country too.

          • Yeah, sure they will, they cant take the houses and companies with them. And frankly they dont create wealth anyway, this is a myth to keep you well behaved. I mean, take JCB, the owners had 10 billion, but what did they do? They sacked 600 people. so they co8uld take 800 million out of the company in a single year, so thats 600 people no longer earning but instead taking benefits so a rich pair can stack another 800 billion into their 10 billion pound fortune which is occasionally spent in dribs and drabs on a massively posh dinner whenmost of the people that actually make and sell the products are near starving. Thats not wealth creation.Next you will tell me banks create wealth – they dont, they take it from business and give it to the already rich shareholders, occasionally dumping it into the housing market to push the prices up so plebs cant afford houess, they dont invest it in companies creating jobs and wealth.

    • Yes and no. I agree Starmer’s tongue is ever at the boot of his muslim vote but I see this as simple precaution against rogue iranian drones or missiles

      • Agreed it is the sensible option which would have been briefed by his service chiefs, but let’s not pretend it’s about anyone else but himself and his position!

    • It was not for the Muslims in the UK it was for the vast majority of people in the UK who don’t want to be part of operation burry the Epstein files 2.

    • Hardly a change in tune for him… Those planes will be doing air defence, the lack of US Bombers at RAF Fairford serve a double purpose, they’re not also being tracked the moment they’re in the skies… British press or spotters would have sent footage of activity on the base and B-2s rolling down the runway the moment they did. Little bit of Maths and it’s a window of strikes.

      • Mate I can see where you are coming from but any platform on the air can be tracked, even the much vaunted stealth! Plus even a blind man, who’s locked in a dark box, in a cellar could pretty much guess using OS int that strikes were coming and what platforms would be used. But I get where your coming from with your thought process 👍

    • Trump will either be toast PDQ if Americans take responsability & return the USA to the free woeld, or he’ll create an evil Trump reich(going remarkably well so far!) which free Europe will have to guard against strongly. Trump makes a big “splash”, but unless stopped will just pull the USA down into the depths of absolute depravity. “Great” is one thing he’ll never make America.

  2. The UKMCC in Bahrain is located beside the USN’s ASU SWA and COMFIFTHFLEET – which has been very visibly hit by at least one Iranian missile. The UK base has been greatly run down from the 700 military personnel that were there as recently as 2023. But there are still 150 left – mainly related to the de-storing of Lancaster and preparing the last ship – Middleton – for her imminent return to the UK. Given the serious risks, it’s surely time to evacuate and mothball or close the base. Embarrassing, even humiliating, but with no warships the base simply has no useful military purpose that justify risking the lives of RN/RM personnel.

        • The key point here is that an Iranian strike landed close to over 300 British servicemen who had no air defence equipment.

          British service personnel in Iraq were so equipped and shot down an Iranian missile. Why were our servicemen in Bahrain not able to defend themselves.

          Who would join up when the UK government clearly cares not a flying fig for their security? Who would continue such a career in the face of such dereliction by the government of the day (and, indeed, successive government’s since 1991).

          As I say, what an absolute disgrace.

      • A naval base with no ships and no defences seems a bit embarrassing to me. Also, the UK-Bahrain agreement establishing the MCC is explicit that at least one frigate destroyer would be based there. The UK is now in breach of that agreement so Bahrain can reclaim the base – the French and Italians seem to be competing as the new tenants.

        I was the last but one Brit working in the adjacent ex-British Army base in Juffair, there have been a lot of changes since I left in 2004 but I still recognise some of the locations in the footage shown in TV footage.

    • So effectively we have no resources in the Gulf we can use to support or assist the evacuation of the 100s of thousand of British citizens who are working in the region. If the conflict expands airspace closes commercially and infrastructure like desalination get hit were going to see just how this and past governments attitude to defence has been so wrong.

      • Yes that is a very big worry and needs some form of movement of assets into the region.. shame we flogged a great big amphibious assault ship to the Brazilians and have essentially scragged the resources needed to do that.

        The lot who are living in the Saudi are probably ok.. not sure Iran will want to go down that road just yet but Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the huge UK population ( and I don’t think most people realises how huge it is) in the United Arab Emirates are no longer in a safe part of the world.. Iran will probably try enact its pound of flesh on those states..

        Although quite frankly I am not you would want to try and do a sea evacuation of the gulf states with Iran in full tonto mod… air is probably better from Saudi.

        To be honest the best thing HMG could do is arrange with Saudi to give all the UK citizens in UAE etc visas to cross over to Saudi by land and then charter flights to fly them all home.. as I’m not sure Saudi would want 300,000 UK citizens hanging around for that long..

        We will have to see how this goes, but if it goes very badly then there will be a lot of people trying to get home.. a few of them I know.

        • If Iran kicked off against the Saudis the locals would squash them as a matter of self defence.

          We could just provide tech support and intel to enable it and sit back.

          • Yes it says something about power and mass when dealing with authoritarian regimes.. Iran is quite happy to throw missiles at the smaller gulf states, but it’s staying clear of Saudi a nation that could addd mass to the attack on it… never be the soft target, something our politicians of all colours need to take to heart

      • It’s impossible to evacuate expats from the gulf by sea. No one could do this. Where would you take them? Africa, India?

        If people are being evacuated it’s by air. No one is being evacuated from the gulf.

    • We don’t have a military any more. And this government is stupidly scrapping ships we need. I don’t give a shit if the ship is leaking, it can be patched, or if it is out of date, it can be upgraded. What I do know is fighting an aircraft carrier by rowing to it with a knife between your teeth may look good I’m a bond movie but isn’t practical

        • Look at the amount we have. Of those 170k how many are front line as against desk jockeys?The russians have lost, according to UK estimates, 1.25 million! They have lost multiple times as many tanks as we possess, they have lost more planes and helicopters than we have, they have lost near as many ships as the royal navy has and they arent even fighting a navy. This should put in perspective we do not have armed forces we have a handful of very brave and very poorly equipped people. I am not denying they are massively impressive and brave but they are far too few in number and far too badly let down by various governments for 50 years or more. We need to understand that spending peanuts on our armed forces is NOT enough. We spend far too much on irrelevant shit in this country and NOT enough where it matters.

    • Update: The Times is reporting that the UK MCC in Bahrain will not be closed, instead it will now focus on providing administrative and support services for allied warships deployed to the region, and the occasional visiting RN warship. It seems that it will basically become an Arabian Gulf equivalent to the British Defence Singapore Support Unit.

      A small party of Royal Marines from 42 Commando who specialise in raiding vessels suspected of transporting drugs or weapons will also remain in Bahrain, but they will now be reliant on allied forces providing them with the required transport.

      There is a comment that this is all dependent on DIP approving the required £11 million a year to keep the facility open.

  4. Let’s pray Trump sticks to his guns over Chagos. Starmer and officials will now embark on an embarrassing backside licking exercise to get Trumps approval. Starmers mates got 8 million for pushing the deal. You have to wonder what Starmers motives are for the one U turn he apparently is not prepared to make. I don’t think many understand the long term damage this deal will do to the UK strategically . I think in if the deal goes through he US may eventually decide to withdraw and revise the way the view the UK.

    • This is what I’ve been alluding to for a while but many don’t want to see it! Hermer is involved along the line, and it’s all about Starmer and his dodgy mates from old!

      • And yawning silence in reply. Yet if you support Trump, if only slightly, for something. Condemnation.
        These HR lawyers have got it made openly acting against the UK while pocketing a fortune from it.
        🤔

    • Honestly I think the best move may be delaying and see where the world goes.. as I’ve always said international law has been against us on this because we removed the native population..

      So if the international rule of law holds we will keep getting hammered about this and the reality is the BIOT offers us no access to strategic wealth.. and it’s only real use is for projecting strategic power into the eastern Indian Ocean… something we don’t have the power or will to do.. or even really the strategic benefit.

      The BIOT has always been about strategic benefit to the US and the UK giving something useful to the US as its ally as a quit pro quo…

      So what the BIOT is worth to the UK is very much based on

      1) how much hassle will we have to take from the rules based order.. Essentially UN based… now if the UN based order collapses as it’s looking like.. then we in future will not get much hassle from it… let’s be honest has anyone taken any notice of the UN since Russia invade Ukraine? With the US walking away it becomes defunct.

      2) how much geostrategic use will the UK get out of it… not America but the UK.. now if we are getting a short load of concessions etc that’s geostrategic benefits.. but if we are getting nothing back it’s worthless to us.

      3) can we defend it or will it become a geostrategic shame that shatters the UK.. image the situation.. the UK says FU to the UN keeps the chagos islands and as part of its claim.. puts the Chagosians back on the island as British citizens.. then in a future fit of even greater isolationism the US decides it’s out of the Indian Ocean… we then have a military base and population to defend that is many many many thousands of Km from home… but does not have the same future geostrategic benefits to the UK as the Falklands and our Atlantic territories.. but is of massive geostrategic importance to all the indo pacific powers.

      Personal the way the world has gone I think it’s past time to worry what the UN thinks.. but I think its massive geostrategic overstretch for the UK to have such a pivotal bit of land it cannot defend so far from home.. as the US no longer cares what anyone thinks and runs on a purely in the moment transactional approach I would simply flog the islands for as much as we can get.. 50 billion all in sounds about right to me… that will buy a lot of ships, armoured vehicles, rotors and jets…

  5. What a mess. I don’t think anyone would disagree that the current Iran regime is pure evil and the world including Iran would be better without them, but so far we have zero evidence that trump has an actual plan for how this will play out. Iraq/Afghan all over again. Just have to cross everything that UK military or civizens don’t get killed in retaliation.

  6. The shutting of the Straits of H is going to have implications for us.
    In years gone by we’d have sent a flotilla to keep it open. Now we barely have a flotilla in our entire ORBAT!

    That we’ve run down the navy to the level we have is a disgrace for which Cameron, May, Boris, Sunk and Starmer should be roundly humiliated for!

      • I would say add a shit load of mines and drones to that DM.Just announced on Al Jazeera that a tanker has been hit in the strait

        • Silly me, of course, mines, potentially a huge problem.
          Luckily the RN has 2 Squadrons of MCMV that it can deploy there to help…..or it did, until HMG compelled the RN to delete them before their autonomous replacements are fully established.
          👏 👏 👏 👏
          Autonomous RNMBs that cannot deploy alone, and hardly any of them, beyond one Sqn at Faslane, and two at Pompey, just one of which is allocated as “Expeditionary.”
          Part of the MTXG.
          And that has what assets, exactly, should the straights be closed and other MCMV called in to help.
          Assume the 6 Hunts left can do something, if needed?

          • And “boom” you have hit the proverbial nail on the head, yet again misguided cuts by HMG which now are reducing the options available during a conflict!

          • Mines and nutters willing to die in small boats .. we often forget that tankers are civilian owned vessels and can only really operate where their insurance company says they can.. it will not be Iran itself that creates an impossible barrier to overcome.. it’s just has to shift a risk managers dial in the insurance industry and boom the straits are closed…

  7. Starmer and the UK are absolutely right to stay at a good arms length from this latest Trump escapade. The only legal grounds for a pre-emptive military attack on a nation are that it has either attacked you with military force or there is clear evidence that it is about to. That is international law, designed to prevent the Nazi/Axis- era invasions of sovereign states.

    The UK is not alone in standing aside from Trump’s venture. An overwhelming majority of our allies in Europe, the Pacific and the Commonwealth are doing the same. All basically think it is a wrong move and an illegal one. Killing Khomeini may be great for Trump’s trophy wall,.but it is no more likely to lead to a free, democratic Iran than the killing of Saddam or Qadaffi did for Iraq or Libya.

    It may be of great assistance to Israel’s PM, who is facing electoral defeat this year and the resumption of criminal charges against him. Ditto Trump, who is facing an electoral setback in the Midterms, which also could lead to the resumption of suspended criminal charges against him.

    It is hard not to see this strike on Iran as the religiously extreme Israeli government creating an opportunity to defeat its regional rival, the religiously extreme Iranian dictatorship. A scenario where Trump is Israel’s naive patsy. I think we had a similar scenario in Gulf War 2, where fabricated claims of Saddam having WMDs have been linked to, but never admitted, Israeli intelligence. If correct, here we go again.

    We should firmly sit this one out and not countenance the inevitable bullying and threats from Trump.

    • Correct, my wife has described trump as an empty vessel. Putin controls him over Ukraine and it seems netanhyahu does over Iran…. But we forget trump’s greed, he’s rich but wants even more, hence his stealing of Venezuela, his attempt to steal Cuba, his attempt on Gaza, his now destruction of Iran and the fact Putin is dangling the idea of loads of Ukrainian minerals this pattern asserts itself over Canada and Greenland, and perhaps is why Milibrain is hiding UK north sea oil and gas in the hope trump forgets we have then

      • I think you are right about the elements who influence Trump. The answers lay within the Epstein archives conveniently redacted, the truth may come out one day. Even the mighty Gates has admitted “affairs” with two Russian women. And Mossad have decades of experience of manipulation of many people.
        Until these “people” face justice? The world will burn. One small ray of hope for cynical old me? The UK has outed a royal, and Mandelsons involvement with a serial peedo. Pity the US will not follow suit.

    • I would add that I would love the fall of the Iranian regime.. my personal view is it should have only been action at the behest and on behalf of some form of secular revolutionary movement that had the popular movement to form a government.. that should have been supported by political warfare activity, unit it was able to come out and say it was the new alternative Iranian government… the US could have then undertaken action to support them..

      To be honest I think we can now essentially know that the international rules based order is dead.. as the German chancellor announced.. it’s now simply power nothing more nothing less.. if you cannot defend it you will lose it if you cannot smash your potential enemies they will come for you.. and something that we have forgotten alliance can be meaningless… ask the Poles who spent 51 Years as an occupied nation…we really really need to take that to heart.

      One of the things I think people have missed here is that the US attacked while undertaking negotiations… this may come back and bite the US catastrophically in the future.. because at some point it’s going to end up at the negotiating table with a peer ( China) and don’t think for one moment China will have forgotten this.. it makes china undertaking a first strike against US western pacific bases far more likely and any future de escalation around Taiwan more remote….

    • I would say Iran firing missiles at the UK sovereign bases has pretty much changed all the goalposts now.. unless the UK and European NATO are happy to let go someone firing missiles at European NATO nation without direct provocation then it will need to respond.. personally I think European NATO nations and especially the UK will now need to respond in some way as Russia will be watching… article five will probably need to be discussed..

      Possibly the most stupid move by Iran.. gives them nothing forces European NATO to consider a response.. directly attacks the UK.

  8. We should do one of two things. Either stay out of trumps oil grab (he is not interested in the people of Iran north the weapons he destroyed before that didn’t exist anyway but in the oil) or we should actively defend Iran against the arsehole.

      • No I dont. The USA is NOT an ally and frankly never ever has been. The USA have worked tirelessly to reduce the British from ruinning a large empire to being a lapdog for US presidents. They upped the prices of the weapons we needed for ww1 to bankrupt us and then came in to force upon us the Washington naval treaty to limit our navy to the size of theirs. In ww12 they took all our gold and our companies, took the secrets of the computer and the jet engine while further economically damaging us. After ww22 they stabed us (oh, and Israel – though the Israeli’s forget this) in the back over Suez, they used us in Korea, Vietnam and the other wars they lost and shafted us in the Falklands before finally this total loser of a president was defeated by the Taliban (and Biden should have torn up his agreement but didnt).
        They run our nuclear weapons at massive cost, they forced us to destroy TSR2 because it was better than theirs. Frankly the present issues in Iran are in large part due to the Americans themselves and their placing the Shah in power and pressuring him to do things that he shouldnt have done.
        I have Iranian friends who were in no way supportive of the regime but Trump went in ato force regime change there because, as with Venezuela he wants the oil, not for the USA but for himself. He is threatening our REAL allies at every turn with military action, including just a day or two ago Canada, and trying to wreck our The USA is NOT an ally, never has been, never will be and under this guy is worse than ever, we should be honest about it and then we can deal with it.
        Worse I am quite sure we have seen the tail end of what passed as democracy (the richest gets the vote) in the USA and we now actually have a dictator – dont forget Hitler was head of a democracy until he changed the rules, Putin was head of a democracy until he cahged the rules… so no, they arent a democracy any more. economy with tariffs.

    • Well done you are the first nobber to break cover👍when’s your first march through London protesting this use of force against the peace loving govt of Iran?

      • Well, not really, do you expect that we support Ukraine which was invaded by an arsehole that wanted to change the leadership of a country just because he wasnt getting what he wanted or had something to hide behind a flurry of other news? Why should it be ok for Trump to do this to hide the shit in the Epstein files about him shagging and eating little girls but its not ok for Putin? Irans regime was disgusting, but ask who put it there, yup, our bloody allies. Ask about their nuclear program – who tore up the agreement, the same ignorant ally. Look at Netanyahu, killing and starving kids to death because of what someone he didnt like did? I think it is time to decide whether we are just a weakling nation sucking the dick of a dictator or a country tha stood up ad fought against a right wing dictatorship that was slaughtering people because it didnt like them

    • No sorry that’s foolish statement, the US is still a democracy and our ally, Iran is a religious fascist state that is our enemy..

      Yep we many not agree with starting a war and so not facilitated that war.. but actually stabbing an ally and fellow democracy in the back… not a chance..

      And that’s not even because the US would eat us for breakfast lunch and tea… it’s just utterly disgusting and morally bankrupt.. beyond the geostrategic suicide … just no no no… FM I’m going to say it TDS… now you’ve made me vomit in my mouth for using a reductionist statement…

      • Germany was read to eat us in ww2 but we had the balls to decide what is right not stick our heads in the sand and pretend it was fine while our arse was screwed. The fact is that the USA has never been an ally, there is no point you can say the USA wasnt acting for itself even on the very od occasion it did anytting that was slightly helpful. Heere the USA is acting just as Russia has, same playbook, make up a hardluck story and try and take the leader out – the USA have done it twice in Trumps latests presidency. They are also not really a democracy, they are basically whoever has the most money. (not that we are a whole lot better to be perfectly honest but I think we try a bit harder to avoid that). Just because the enemy is powerful, just because you sicked theiarse last week doesnt mean you should do it again today.

  9. On a purely military standpoint, I love how the BBC emphasises Iran “replying in force.”
    With BM? Plume of smoke here and there as the odd one gets through?
    With what accuracy exactly?
    “Iran has hit the US 5th Fleet in Bahrain.”
    Damage, if any?
    In Israel, 1 person killed so far, I residential building destroyed.
    Has Iran been bigged up too much, as Iraq was before it?
    Big armed forces, totally inept against a modern western power with ISTAR systems aplenty.
    Targets being struck off the map, and it’s only day one.
    US and Israeli aircraft, so any NATO and UK as well if we wished, seem to be able to operate at will through their much vaunted Air Defence system, with it being either jammed, destroyed, or even turned off by secret cyber means.
    It’s unwise to jump the gun, sure, but how many loses did the US and Israel suffer last time compared to the pummeling Iran recieved?
    Iran seems to be all talk and no bite, apart from it’s ability to sponsor terrorists.
    Meanwhile, the BBC seems more interested in the girls school that was probably placed right next to or on top of a target, rather than the growing list of targets negated accurately.

    • BBC reporting is usually pretty poor these days. I also suspect that Iran is not really doing the best it can, perhaps using some drones might be a better idea than ballistic missiles, whittle down the air defence a bit first. Then maybe a very large number of missiles at once to overwhelm. Small numbers arent going to do much against the air defence systems of either USA or Israel. I wouldnt really wish harm on people but they obeyed orders to attack another country without reason. Oh the regime killed protesters – true enough, Russia is killing civilians in Ukraine, what are the Americans doing there? Nothing. What about North Korea killing its citizens, nothing. Nuclear program? You mean like Iraqs? They didnt have one either,Trump also claims to have destroyed Irans one already. Trump walked away from an agreement. And again, North Korea, Russia nd others are building them, so what is so special about Iran..l..oil, thats what.

  10. Happy St David’s day to the Welsh. Get yourself a daffodil 🙂
    As regards the Ayatolla, those who live by the sword…..
    As regards Trump and Iran, I’m thinking we were smart to stay out of it and …what can we get out of it 🤔

    • Agree. I support the US and Israel in doing it, however, as the Iranian regime is our enemy.
      We are now weak and full of words, so could only take a token part even if we’d wanted to.
      Iraq, Afghanistan, we should never have got involved with either beyond SF and intell.

      • As regards legality, the US was never going to get the approval of the UN. Sometimes it’s betted to ask for forgiveness rather than get permission 😉
        My grandmother used to say, if you don’t bend you break; as the Ayatollah has just discovered.
        Psalm 95 v 8
        ‘Harden not your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your ancestors tested me although they had seen my works’.
        Not sure whether this verse is the Quran.🤔

        • The Sec Gen of the UN has condemned the attack so as you say no support there! Pity he doesn’t condemn the actions of a certain security council member trying to bomb a country back to the Stone Age isn’t it?

          • I think you will find he did. In fact he has sissued a few more since the start of it. But evenusing the russians as an example is NOT a good justification to copy them. Otherwise the UN is a waste of time and space and the world will end up in a world war again each thinking they should have it all.

    • I think we now have to get involved.. Iran firing missiles at our sovereign territory is essentially a whole new geostrategic game for the UK and European NATO nations.. Russia is now watching what we and European NATO do..

  11. Am I alone in being concerned that Iran’s uranium stockpile includes uranium enriched far beyond the level needed for most non-military uses like nuclear power or medical applications? The IAEA said in May that Iran is now “the only non-nuclear-weapon State to produce such nuclear material.”

    That, together with an ICBM program close to achieving missiles capable of reaching this country, not far off having ICBMs capable of reaching the U.S., very much offers a credible ‘casus belli’.

    International law barely exists in any universally accepted sense. In the real world, it is of limited if any utility when the survival of a sovereign state is in question.

  12. very grumpy comments above, no one can be sorry for a dead religious despot who repressed his own people and spread terror to other countries. UK should stay out of it because no one can predict the outcome for Iran and the region. feels weird that we did not lend our airfields to usa, but agree with starmer on that one.

    • Mmm so what’s the actual need for Diego Garcia then? A strategic shared base in the IO then the US is told it can’t use it strategically,
      So what does Starmer and Co want to pay £bs for its use for?(Chinese use maybe)

  13. Law is best seen as a tool and not holy scripture. The people who would put defence of an “international rules based order” above national interest are confusing means with outcome. Laws should be followed if following them is rational and repealed or ignored when following them leads to adverse outcomes.Believe it or not because stated are sovereign they are actually allowed to do this.
    This is better demonstrated in this real world example. What would be better a future where we follow international law like holy shiboleth, pay to give up the Chagos and allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. Alternatively a future where we work in self-interest, keep our money, keep the Chagos and growl menacingly at anyone who threatens that sovereignty and support our allies in their actions of turning the Iranian regime into a funeral pyre? One might keep a vapid North London lawyer happy but would also result in adverse outcomes for the country and the world.

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