LONDON — The United Kingdom’s foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, has defended an agreement to allow the American military to use British air bases to strike Iranian ballistic missile strikes.
Her comments come after the runway of a Royal Air Force air base in Cyprus was struck by an Iranian drone strike last night — Britain released few details of the strike but said there were no injuries. Families living at the base have been moved to another site on the island.
Last night, Prime Minister Keir Starmer granted a request from the Pentagon for U.S. forces to use British bases on Cyprus and Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean.
“I’ve spoken to foreign ministers across the Gulf who were frankly shocked and horrified at the way their countries were targeted by Iran over the weekend,” Cooper told Sky News this morning.
“This is a deeply malign regime that is posing a direct threat to our partners in the region and to British citizens who are currently sheltering in place and in hotels and that’s why we’re supporting this limited defensive action.”
Cooper also said her government was working to support some 300,000 Britons working, on vacation and living in Middle East countries struck by Iranian missiles in the last 48 hours and would not rule out potential evacuation plans.
Cooper said the U.K. was sending out rapid deployment teams to help citizens “get home as swiftly as possible.” Asked whether she was working on an evacuation plan, she said: “We’re working on a wide range of options. The most important thing is to follow local safety advice.”