UK 'blocks US from using RAF bases to launch Iran strike
The United Kingdom has blocked the United States from using RAF bases to launch a strike on Iran, prompting anger from President Donald Trump.The disagreement over the use of the British military sites is behind Trump's withdrawal of his support for Sir Keir Starmer’s deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, a report has claimed.It comes as the White House is drawing up a detailed military plan for an attack on Iran involving the use of both Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, the site of America’s fleet of heavy bombers in Europe. Defence officials reportedly briefed Trump that the US will be ready to begin a war by Saturday, following a formidable build-up of American aircraft and ships in recent days. After the deployment of around 50 extra fighting jets, air-to-air refuelling tankers and other aircraft towards the Middle East, the military assets will reach the necessary level for airstrikes to begin by the weekend.However, under the conditions of long-standing agreements with the White House, British bases can only be used for military operations that have been agreed in advance with Number 10. As per international law, there is no formal distinction between a nation carrying out a strike and those in support, if the latter have 'knowledge of the circumstances of the internationally wrongful act'.The UK has not yet granted permission to the US to use the military sites in the event that Trump orders an attack on Tehran, because of concerns that the strike would be a breach of international law, according to a report in the Times. US Air Force F-22s in the UK, on the way to the Middle East to support B-2 bombers, pictured at RAF Lakenheath todayRead More Trump rushed into Iran crisis meeting as insider warns 'strike within hours' On Tuesday night, Trump spoke to the prime minister about his ultimatum to Iran over its nuclear programme.The following day, he published a post on his social media platform Truth Social attacking the UK over its plans to settle the future of the Chagos Islands with Mauritius.'I have been telling Prime Minister Keir Starmer, of the United Kingdom, that Leases are no good when it comes to Countries, and that he is making a big mistake by entering a 100 Year Lease with whoever it is that is “claiming” Right, Title, and Interest to Diego Garcia, strategically located in the Indian Ocean,' Trump wrote. 'Should Iran decide not to make a Deal, it may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia, and the Airfield located in Fairford, in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous Regime,' he added.In 2021, John Healey, the current defence secretary, asked in the Commons for clarification from the then Conservative government over the use of British military sites by American forces.In response, he was told that any operation would need to comply with UK law and the UK's consideration of relevant international law.There is a strong precedent to Britain's attitude on pre-emptive strikes.In the lead up to the Iraq war, Lord Goldsmith, the then attorney-general, said international law only justified force in self-defence, where there existed an actual or imminent attack.He claimed only later that a UN resolution related to Iraq rendered it a legal conflict. In his post on Truth Social, Trump suggested the government's support for a strike would be legal under international law, as Tehran could potentially attack the UK as well as 'other friendly Countries'.'We will always be ready, willing, and able to fight for the U.K., but they have to remain strong in the face of Wokeism, and other problems put before them. DO NOT GIVE AWAY DIEGO GARCIA!' Trump concluded.The UK government has repeatedly emphasised that an agreement with Mauritius - forecasted to cost the taxpayer £35 billion - is necessary for security reasons and would avoid an expensive legal battle over the territory.Diego Garcia is the largest island in the Chagos archipelago and has been used as a joint UK–US military base since the 1970s.Under the deal, announced last May, the UK will lease back Diego Garcia for 99 years at an average cost of £101 million annually. Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said: 'It's time Starmer finally saw sense, U-turned and scrapped this appalling deal altogether.'Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: 'Trump's endless flip-flopping on the Chagos Islands shows why Starmer's approach is doomed to fail.'A government spokesman told the Daily Mail: 'As routine, we do not comment on operational matters.'There is a political process ongoing between the US and Iran, which the UK supports. 'Iran must never be able to develop a nuclear weapon, and our priority is security in the region.'It comes as a second aircraft carrier strike group, the USS Gerald R. Ford, is expected to reach the eastern Mediterranean within the next few days.From there, the world's largest warship and its escort could protect Israel from an Iranian counter-attack, utilising fast jets from the carrier to take out drones, and its destroyers to assist the Jewish state's powerful but not comprehensive missile defence umbrella.
Alternatively, the F-35s and other combat aircraft from the carrier could also be deployed to attack Iran from the eastern Mediterranean, however if the carrier moved to the Arabian Sea, where USS Abraham Lincoln is currently located, that could improve the American sortie rate in the scenario of a sustained campaign.With the combined power of combat jets, support aircraft and warships, the US has the capacity to pummel Iran non-stop for weeks, if Trump issues the order.While Trump is not believed to have made a decision yet, two rounds of negotiations between US and Iranian representatives in Geneva have made only very limited progress.JD Vance, the US Vice-President, warned after talks on Tuesday that the theocratic regime was failing to acknowledge Trump's 'red lines'.According to the Wall Street Journal, the American president has been briefed on his military options, amid the assemblage of the most air power in the region since the 2003 Iraq invasion.As well as attacking Iran's nuclear facilities - which Trump previously claimed had been 'obliterated' during Operation Midnight Hammer in June - the US could also try to trigger regime change from the air.Such a campaign would involve attempts to assassinate Iran's supreme leader, 86-year-old Ali Khamenei, and several of his senior officers, as well as the chiefs of the fanatically loyal Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.Combined with the potential return of nationwide popular demonstrations against the regime, analysts have calculated that this might spell the end of the Islamic Republic. Sascha Bruchmann, a research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told The Telegraph: 'The aim would be that the mainstream Iranian army, the Artesh, might side with the people. I want to be clear that we didn’t see that in January, but that would be the design.''Air strikes would likely aim to hit the regime in its communications, so it was unable to communicate and organise itself – levelling the playing field [for anti-regime forces],' she added.Asked how brittle the Islamic Republic was, Bruchmann said: 'There’s an old adage: they always kill at the beginning and at the end.'Preparations have also started in Israel for the possibility of joining the US with strikes, according to the New York Times, citing two defence officials.The Israeli military has over 200 combat aircraft at its disposal, including F-35s, F-16s and F-15s.Its government brought forward a security cabinet meeting scheduled for Sunday to Thursday. Trump has so far held off on striking Iran after setting red lines over the killing of peaceful protesters and the regime holding mass executions, while re-engaging Tehran in nuclear talks earlier disrupted by the Iran-Israel war in June. It comes as Tehran carried out military drills with Russia on Thursday, days after its unprecedented closure of the Strait of Hormuz.Iran's Revolutionary Guards temporarily shut down parts of the vital waterway and fired cruise missiles on Tuesday, in a stark warning of the potential fallout to the world economy if the US goes through with its threats to attack. The drill Thursday saw Iranian forces and Russian sailors conduct operations in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean.It was aimed at 'upgrading operational coordination as well as exchange of military experiences,' Iran's state-run IRNA news agency claimed.Rear-Adml Hassan Maghsoudlou, a spokesman for the drill, said Iran would be conducting 'anti-terrorism and vessel protection operations', with the goal of enhancing 'security and sustainable maritime interactions in the Gulf of Oman and northern Indian Ocean'.China had joined the 'Security Belt' drill in previous years, but there was no acknowledgment it participated in this round. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk urged all of Poland's citizens to evacuate Iran on Thursday, warning that the option to leave might no longer be possible ‘within a few hours’.‘Please leave Iran immediately … and do not go to this country under any circumstances,’ Tusk said.
