Iran-US War Latest: Trump to Use British Bases for ‘Surge’ in Attacks

The US will use British bases to increase the number of strikes on Iran “dramatically”, Pete Hegseth has said. 

Israel and America have moved into “the next phase” of their military campaign, carrying out bombing raids on Tehran and Beirut this morning.

The US defence secretary said it was “unfortunate” that Britain did not initially approve the use of its bases – including Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands – “but we got there”, he said.

“The amount of firepower over Iran and over Tehran is about to surge dramatically,” Mr Hegseth added.

“When we say more to come, it’s more fighter squadrons, it’s more capabilities, it’s more defensive capabilities and it’s more bomber pulses more frequently.”

Washington is deploying more warplanes to the region after gaining greater access to foreign countries’ bases

Sir Keir Starmer granted the US permission to use British bases for purely defensive purposes after Iran began firing indiscriminately at allies across the Middle East, and the Prime Minister was accused of not going enough to support the region.

On Thursday, Donald Trump refused to deny reports that he had described Sir Keir as a “loser” and repeated that he was “no Winston Churchill.”

Royal Air Force jets could legally strike Iranian missile sites that are used to attack British assets in the Middle East, David Lammy has said.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that Britain’s F-35 and Typhoon jets were only shooting down missiles and drones fired by Iran at allies in the region at this stage.

But he said there was a legal basis for them to strike directly at the Iranian bases should they be used to launch attacks.

He told BBC Breakfast: “It is entirely legal to protect our people and protect our staff, and therefore all operational capability is available to us in those circumstances.”

Asked if the UK could legally fire at an Iranian base in anticipation of an attack, Mr Lammy said: “It is my understanding that that would be legal.”

Qatar expects all Gulf energy producers to shut down ​exports within ‌weeks and drive oil to $150 a barrel, the country’s Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi told the Financial Times in an interview published today.

“Everybody that has not called for force majeure we expect will do so ‌in ‌the ⁠next few days that this continues. All exporters in the Gulf region will have to ⁠call force majeure,” Mr Kaabi told the FT.

Kaabi said even if the war ended immediately it would take Qatar “weeks ​to months” to return ‌to a normal cycle of deliveries.

Qatar halted its production of liquefied natural gas on Monday, as Iran ‌continued to ​strike ⁠Gulf countries in retaliation for the US-Israeli war. 

Donald Trump wants Kurdish fighters to launch a ground invasion to take over parts of western Iran, and has promised to give them air support.

Rather than American or Israeli boots on the ground, the US president said he favoured a proxy force made up of Kurdish Iranians and supplied with US weapons to try to bring down the regime.

“I think it’s wonderful that they want to do that, I’d be all for ​it,” Mr Trump ‌said on Thursday.

The goal of such an incursion, it is claimed, would be to take over territory in the Kurdish region inside Iran in order to challenge the regime and inspire a broader uprising.

While the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has promised to “suffocate in the cradle any terrorist or separatist activity”, Iranian-Kurdish separatist groups could launch attacks and draw Iranian regime forces out to western Iran, diverting security resources and exposing them to US and Israeli air strikes.

Kurdish forces, based in the mountains of northern Iraq, are well-positioned for a ground invasion along the 1,000-mile land border with the Kurdish-majority areas of western Iran.

With Mr Trump having been accused of not having a plan to force regime change in Iran beyond killing the leadership and urging the public to rise up, these comments provide the first insight into the US’s thinking on how to end the war.

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More flights have been cancelled to and from Cyprus because of the fighting across the Middle East. 

A total of 39 flights in and out of Larnaca airport have been scrapped for today. 

They include 22 arrivals and departures from destinations in the Middle East and Europe. 

If the crisis continues, Cypriots fear it could negatively impact the island’s crucial tourism sector. 

Several blasts were heard over Tel Aviv this morning after the military said it had detected new missiles launched from Iran.

“A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the military said.

David Lammy insists that he is not embarrassed by Britain’s response to the crisis in the Middle East following the delay in sending a Royal Navy destroy to Cyrpus.

RAF Akrotiri, one of two British sovereign bases, was hit by a drone earlier this week.

The government has ordered the deployment of HMS Dragon to Cyprus but it will not sail from the UK until next week.

Asked if he was embarrassed about the tardy deployment, the Deputy Prime Minister told Sky News: “Absolutely not…. we have F-35s, Typhoons in the sky taking down missiles as we speak and that has happened over Jordan, it’s happened over Qatar and of course, we will support nationals in the region.

”It’s also right to say that we coordinate with allies, the French, the Germans. Cyprus is a Nato ally, so we coordinate also with other teams and other close allies on how we equip the area. HMS Dragon will be in the region in the coming weeks to further bolster and further support our air defences.”

Four men have been arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran.

The Metropolitan Police said the men were detained in the early hours of Friday at addresses across north London.

Their arrests relate to suspected surveillance of locations and individuals linked to the Jewish community in the capital, Scotland Yard said.

The men were arrested at addresses in Barnet and Watford as part of a pre-planned operation. They are being held under the National Security Act.

Commander Helen Flanagan, the head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, which is leading the investigation, said: “Today’s arrests are part of a long-running investigation and part of our ongoing work to disrupt malign activity where we suspect it.

Britain is sending two Wildcat helicopters to Cyprus to bolster its defences after an Iranian drone hit the RAF’s base at Akrotiri on the south coast of the island on Monday.

The helicopters, which are equipped with Martlet missiles capable of intercepting and destroying drones, are expected to arrive today.

Luke Pollard, the minister for defence readiness, says the helicopters have the capacity to “take out Iranian drones that are threatening not only our UK bases but also our allies.”

The UK is also sending a Royal Navy destroyer, HMS Dragon, but it is undergoing maintenance and will not arrive on the island for at least a week.

The delay has prompted criticism of the government, particularly in light of the fact that Greece and France have already dispatched warships to the island.

Britain has two sovereign bases on Cyprus – Akrotiri, near the city of Limassol, and Dhekelia in the east. They were established after Cyprus gained independence in 1960.

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the war in the Middle East, which is now in its seventh day. 

Here’s a reminder of what happened overnight: 

• The first government-chartered flight for Britons leaving the Middle East landed in London
• Iran struck a hotel and two residential buildings in Bahrain
• Donald Trump said he was unconcerned about soaring petrol prices caused by the escalating conflict in Iran
• Hezbollah warned residents to evacuate from Israeli towns located near the Lebanese border as it threatened to launch a renewed incursion
• Qatar intercepted a drone attack targeting America’s Al-Udeid air base early this morning
• Saudi Arabia said it destroyed three drones east of Riyadh
• Israel continued to pound Iran and Lebanon, launching 26 waves of strikes against Hezbollah in Beirut