Safety of UK personnel and bases my top priority, says Healey after US strikes on Iran
More RAF Typhoon fighter jets have been deployed to the Middle East after the US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities over the weekend, the Defence Secretary has said on X.
John Healey said "the safety of UK personnel and bases is my top priority" in light of the B-2 stealth bomber attacks, which dropped GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs called Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOPs).
"The US has taken action to alleviate the grave threat that Iran poses to global security," he said.
"The UK did not participate in these strikes.
"The safety of UK personnel and bases is my top priority. Force protection is at its highest level, and we deployed additional jets this week."
Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge welcomed the statement by his Labour counterpart.
Washington attacked targets at Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz, which are linked to Iran's nuclear programme.
Tehran has said its nuclear programme is peaceful. However, its uranium enrichment has reached levels way above what is needed for power stations.
During Operation Midnight Hammer, which utilised more than 125 aircraft, 14 MOPs were launched at two of Iran's nuclear sites.
Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard said the Government's aim was to find a diplomatic solution - while protecting British personnel in the region.
"Our focus has been on securing a diplomatic solution to this, as well as protecting our people in the region, because the UK has a number of military bases across the Middle East," Mr Pollard said in an interview with Sky News.
"We're there to secure not only the protection of our Gulf allies, but also to deal with the... terrorism threat that exists in Syria and Iraq at the moment.
"And for that reason, given the heightened tensions, we're making sure that we have the highest level of force protection for our people so we know that they're safe and they're able to continue to deliver the vital, critical mission that they do for UK defence and our national security."
When he was asked whether the Government was disappointed by President Trump's decision to use force against Iran, he said: "The US felt it necessary to take action to alleviate what they felt was a severe threat to their security and regional security."
Iran fired a ballistic missile barrage against Israel in response to the US strikes.
President Trump said that any retaliation would be pushed back with "force far greater" than used in the first strikes.
UK bases in the Middle East
The British military has several bases dotted around the region, including in Bahrain, Cyprus, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Cyprus, which is home to RAF Akrotiri, is a permanent joint operations base. It has two Sovereign Base Areas in Akrotiri and Dhekelia.
The base is often used for operations in the Middle East.
Akrotiri is the main aircraft base in the region, meaning it can manage fighter jets, air-to-air refuelling, transport, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft.
A pair of Army infantry battalions are deployed to the bases on a rotational basis.
The families of personnel can live in Cyprus with them.
The other notable mission in the Middle East is Operation Shader, which involves 200 UK personnel in Iraq, combatting Islamic State.
The terrorist group recently blew up a church in Damascus in a suicide bombing, which left 22 dead and 63 injured, according to Syrian state media.
Units have previously been deployed to Assad Air Base in Anbar province, Erbil in the Kurdistan Regional Government area, Al-Taji and Al-Bismayah near Baghdad.
The British Army is out there to aid the Iraqi and Kurdish forces, and is not in Iraq to get into combat.
"UK training is focused on enhancing the capabilities of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) in order to ensure the enduring defeat of Daesh [Islamic State]," James Heappey, then-Armed Forces Minister, said in February 2024, when asked about the training the UK was providing the ISF.
"This includes training on policy and strategy, planning, cyber security, human rights and women's empowerment."
US bases in the UK
Washington has 12 bases around the UK after having nearly 100 US bases in the UK during the Second World War.
The last remaining bases are RAF Lakenheath, RAF Croughton, RAF Welford, RAF Fairford, RAF Feltwell, RAF Barford St John, RAF Blenheim Crescent, RAF Fylingdales, RAF Menwith Hill, RAF Mildenhall, RAF Alconbury and RAF Molesworth.
RAF Lakenheath acts as an airfield for US fighter jets.
F-22 Raptors were seen landing at the base last week amid the continued tensions between Israel and Iran.
F-35A Lightning IIs and F-15E Strike Eagles call the base home.
Another base is RAF Fairford, which has been in use since it was created for the D-Day operations in 1944.
501st Combat Support Wing Headquarters and the 420th Air Base Squadron are located there, and it serves as the preferred bomber forward operating location in Europe for USAF Global Strike Command.
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