Iran's a destructive force and our aim is to protect lives in this conflict, says Healey
The Armed Forces deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean are there to protect British people, British bases and British allies from an Iranian regime that is a "destructive force", John Healey has insisted.
The Defence Secretary said: "In the last week, we've seen Iran lashing out with dangerous, indiscriminate and reckless strikes.
"In the first day alone, they attacked 10 countries, hitting military and civilian targets… including hotels in Dubai and Bahrain and the Kuwaiti national airport.
Attacks condemned
"British troops stationed at a US base in Bahrain were within a few hundred yards of an Iranian strike. And a small drone hit our base in Cyprus… coming from Lebanon or Iraq."
Mr Healey said Iran has now fired over 500 ballistic and cruise missiles and more than 2,000 drones.
"Even after the Iranian president's apology and promise to Gulf states over the weekend, Iran still then struck multiple countries with drones and missiles, including Bahrain, where 32 civilians were injured in one attack, and a desalination plant was hit in another," he added.
"We totally condemn these attacks. They are putting hundreds of thousands of people at risk, including British nationals and members of our Armed Forces.
Regime exporting violence
"But... while Iran's indiscriminate strikes began last Saturday, the Iranian regime has for decades been a source of evil, exporting violence across the Middle East and beyond."
Mr Healey said Iran has supplied nearly 60,000 Shahed drones to Russia for President Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine.
"Here in the UK, they conduct aggressive cyber-attacks against us and have plotted assassination on Britain's streets," he said.
"The Iranian regime is a destructive force – which has slaughtered protesters in its own streets and inflicts terrible suffering, especially against its own people.
"We want to see Iran stop their strikes, give up their nuclear ambitions and restart the negotiations.
"And as Defence Secretary, my number one priority is protecting British people – military and civilian alike."
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