Britain has ramped up its security in the Middle East and has given its troops in the region greater firepower, telling them to prepare for revenge strikes following the US drone attack on Iran’s top general Qassem Soleimani.
As well as two warships being manoeuvered to accompany British-flagged oil tankers in the Gulf, more than 400 soldiers training local forces have been ordered to abandon duties and switch to ‘force protection’ and guard British diplomats and assets amid fears of an ‘accidental war’ between Iran and the US.
The soldiers will be handed heavier weapons and have been told to move from eight small bases in Iraq to large US-controlled compounds, although these sights are at risk of retaliation after an Iranian official said 35 US targets had already been identified in the region.
A Royal Navy nuclear-powered submarine armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles is also in the region, where it is kept at all times and is in position to strike if tensions give way to war. The 20ft tomahawk carries a 1,000lb high explosive warhead has a range of 1,550 miles and travels at speeds of 550mph, with the power to destroy a building.
Donald Trump then stoked the fire by threatening to hit ’52 Iranian targets… very fast and very hard’ should Iran strike any Americans or US assets in retribution for the killing of the popular and revered general.
At least four rockets were fired towards Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone on Saturday night, where the US and British embassies sit.
A senior British figure told The Times: ‘We have a plan A and a plan B and a ‘break the glass’ plan if it all kicks off. Our forces in the region have been told to reorientate towards force protection.’
Boris Johnson, who will return to the UK from his holiday in Mustique on Sunday and has remained tight-lipped throughout the crisis, has been described as ‘pretty doveish’ by a senior figure, who said the Prime Minister’s main concern was to avoid Britain being dragged into an unnecessary war.
But Mr. Johnson will not only be greeted with a geopolitical emergency on his return, but he will also walk back into a simmering diplomatic row with the US after Britain was left in the dark about the attack, unlike Israel.
He is now responding to threats in the Middle East by deploying HMS Montrose and HMS Defender, a Type 23 frigate and a Type 45 destroyer which were already in the region, to accompany British-flagged oil tankers.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace ordered the warships to the Strait of Hormuz to ‘take all necessary steps to protect our ships and citizens’.
Around 50 members of the SAS are also heading to the Middle East to help with a potential evacuation of Britons, while defense chiefs are asking Mr. Johnson whether to deploy eight RAF Typhoon jets based in Cyprus, a Sentinel spy plane and drones.
Iranians burn a US and an Israeli flag during an anti-US protest in Tehran on Saturday following the brutal killings of military commander Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis
Mourners carry the coffins of Iran’s top general Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iran-backed militias in Iraq, during their funeral in Karbala
Protesters chanted ‘death to America!’ and held aloft signs vowing revenge over the death of the popular and revered general
President Donald Trump flashed a smile and gave a thumbs up after playing a round of golf at Mar-a-Largo as an Iranian official warned that the country has already identified 35 U.S. targets to hit in retaliation for Qassem Soleimani’s death
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: A protestor from the Stop the War Coalition wears a Donald Trump mask and has a placard saying ‘WARMONGER’ draped around his neck during protests opposite Downing Street in Whitehall, London on Saturday
HMS Defender (pictured) has been sent to the Strait of Hormuz to protect British troops and assets in the Gulf
Britain has also sent frigate HMS Montrose (pictured) to the Persian Gulf in the wake of the US drone strike on Iran’s top general Qassem Soleimani
The Foreign Office has strengthened its warnings over travel to the Middle East after a US drone strike killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani (pictured) in Baghdad
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace (pictured) ordered the warships to the Strait of Hormuz to ensure the British-flagged ships make it through the perilous region safely. Boris Johnson (right) will fly back from Mustique on Sunday as the crisis deepens
Plans are now afoot to move British soldiers to secure the British embassy in Baghdad amid fears that Iranian proxies could kill or abduct Britons or storm the enclave.
Intelligence chiefs also fear there is a credible threat to the British embassy in Tehran, which was stormed by local mobs in 2011.
The CIA’s former head of Middle East operation, Doug Wise, said: ‘If you are a British or US diplomat, you better be checking for bombs under your car.’
The Foreign Office and MI6 are monitoring events ‘hour by hour’, with ministers believing there is a 40 percent chance the UK will be asked to withdraw all its forces from Baghdad.
John Sawers, former head of MI6, said the US had declared ‘an act of war’ by assassinating Soleimani.
As tensions mounted globally yesterday over Iran’s potential response:
Crowds chanting ‘death to America’ gathered in Iraq’s capital Baghdad to follow the coffin of Soleimani, the architect of Iran’s covert Middle East operations, who was blown up by missiles from a US drone at Baghdad airport on Friday morning;
Concern grew for London charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been detained for more than three years in Iran over spying allegations she denies. Last night her husband Richard told The Mail on Sunday that, when he broke the news of the airstrike to her over the phone, she asked: ‘What will happen to me now?’;
Labour’s Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell told a protest against the action in Westminster that ‘violence begets violence’ and called for civil disobedience;
The Foreign Office advised against travel to Iraq and warned against all but essential travel to Iran. Alerts for other Middle East nations were being raised, with citizens urged to ‘remain vigilant’ in Israel, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates;
British troops were on lockdown in Iraq as joint exercises with Iraqis were canceled;
Donald Trump threatened more violence saying the US had identified 52 targets, representing the 52 hostages held by Iran in 1979, which he would hit ‘very fast and very hard’ if Iran retaliated
Two missiles fell close to the US embassy in Baghdad.
Amid rising anger among ministers over America’s failure to give the UK warning, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hit back by criticizing the British Government’s cool response to the killing of Soleimani.
Downing Street staff are now scrambling to mount a response by arranging for Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to fly to Washington for talks with Mr. Pompeo – and to examine options for boosting the British military presence in the region.
Furious British security officials have also accused No 10 of allowing a ‘political vacuum’ to open up while Mr Johnson was on holiday in the Caribbean, during which he failed to make any comment on the incident.
Downing Street insisted that Mr. Johnson would be briefed in full on the situation once he returns to work, including on the possibility of retaliatory actions Iran might take against the UK.
Mr. Wallace said: ‘Yesterday I spoke to my US counterpart Secretary Esper and we urge all parties to engage to de-escalate the situation.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (right) spoke to members of Soleimani’s family on Saturday during a visit to their house after the general’s death
U.S. Army, Maj. Gen. James Mingus, the 82nd Airborne Division commanding general, speaks with paratroopers from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division as they deploy to the Middle East from Fort Bragg on Saturday
An Iranian official revealed that at least 35 US targets have been identified for retaliatory strikes, including ships in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz (file photo)
‘During the last few months US forces in Iraq, who are based in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi government, have been repeatedly attacked by Iranian backed militia.
‘I have instructed preparation for HMS Montrose and HMS Defender to return to accompanying duties of Red Ensign Shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The Government will take all necessary steps to protect our ship and citizens at this time.’
In a bid to avoid a full-blown fall out with America, Mr. Wallace said the US had a right under international law to defend itself.
On Saturday, Donald Trump tweeted from Mar-a-Lago: ‘Iran is talking very boldly about targeting certain USA assets as revenge for our ridding the world of their terrorist leader who had just killed an American and badly wounded many others, not to mention all of the people he had killed over his lifetime, including recently hundreds of Iranian protesters.
‘He was already attacking our Embassy and preparing for additional hits in other locations. Iran has been nothing but problems for many years.
‘Let this serve as a warning that if Iran strikes any Americans or American assets, we have targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago).
‘Some at a very high level and important to Iran and the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, will be hit very fast and very hard. The USA wants no more threats.’
Trump’s threat referenced the Iran hostage crisis of 1979-1981, in which 52 U.S. diplomats and citizens were held hostage by student revolutionaries in Iran.
His threat to target sites important to ‘Iranian culture’ drew many accusations from critics that he was threatening to commit ‘war crimes’.
82nd Airborne Division paratroopers load aircraft bound for the Middle East from Fort Bragg on Saturday
Pictured: an oil tanker docked at Port Rashid in Dubai in the Persian Gulf
Mr. Johnson will likely be greeted by Sir Mark Sedwill on Sunday, the National Security Adviser, as the crisis deepens.
Sedwill has been locked in meetings on Saturday with the heads of the UK intelligence agencies on potential risks to ships and citizens in the Middle East.
An Iranian official said at least 35 US targets, including warships and Tel Aviv, have been identified for retaliatory strikes.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah has told Iraqi soldiers to leave US bases and the White House believes an attack may happen ‘within weeks’.
The potential threat was raised by General Gholamali Abuhamzeh, the commander of the Guards in the southern province of Kerman, one day after the top military leader was killed at the Baghdad International Airport.
Abuhamzeh said vital American targets in the region had been identified a ‘long time ago’, including ships in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and Tel Aviv.
WASHINGTON DC, USA: A demonstrator holds a sign which reads ‘No war with Iran’ as hundreds gathered across the US in response to increased tensions in the Middle East
Thousands attended the funeral procession in Karbala, Iraq, and waved flags and banners in support of the slain military chiefs
Iran is considering its options against America in retaliation for the killing of Quds commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad. The conflict could quickly spiral out of control, dragging in other world powers including Russia, Turkey, and China
‘The Strait of Hormuz is a vital point for the West and a large number of American destroyers and warships cross there … some 35 US targets in the region, as well as Tel Aviv, are within our reach,’ he said, according to Reuters.
Hezbollah, an Islamic political and militant group, has also warned Iraqi soldiers to stay at least 1,000 meters away from US military bases from Sunday onwards.
In Mr. Johnson’s absence from the UK, civil servants and spy chiefs chaired three meetings of the Government’s crisis Cobra meetings, with Mr. Raab taking the ‘political leaders’.
However his response – a 34-word public statement – was last night branded by one Minister as ‘wet’ and ‘too timid’. Allies of the Foreign Secretary hit back that there ‘was more to diplomacy than Twitter’ and dismissed suggestions that Mr. Raab regarded the attack as anything other than legitimate.
The crisis has also caused tensions with the UK’s main EU partners. A joint statement on the attack from Britain, Germany, and France, dubbed the E3, was abandoned on Friday evening amid wrangling over the wording.
In his remarks to the American media, Mr. Pompeo said he was ‘disappointed’ by the response from Mr. Raab, who called for a ‘de-escalation’ intensions.
Mr. Pompeo said: ‘Frankly, the Europeans haven’t been as helpful as I wish that they could be.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab (pictured) said the updated advice was issued due to ‘heightened tensions in the region’ and would be kept under review
At Soleimani’s funeral on Saturday mourners chanted ‘Death to America!’ as tensions rise in the Middle East
LAHORE, PAKISTAN: Protesters set alight American and Israeli flags in the Pakistani city on Friday after news of Soleimani’s death spread throughout the world
Mourners lift up the coffins inside the Shrine of Imam Hussein in the Iraqi city of Karbala
‘The Brits, the French, the Germans all need to understand that what we did, what the Americans did, saved lives in Europe as well.
‘This was a good thing for the entire world, and we are urging everyone in the world to get behind what the US is trying to do to get Iran to simply behave like a normal nation.’
Following the criticism of Mr. Raab’s response, Mr. Wallace said: ‘General Soleimani has been at the heart of the use of proxies to undermine neighboring sovereign nations and target Iran’s enemies.
‘Under international law, the United States is entitled to defend itself against those posing an imminent threat to their citizens.
‘I have instructed preparations for HMS Montrose and HMS Defender to return to accompanying duties of Red Ensign shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
‘The Government will take all necessary steps to protect our ships and citizens at this time.’
British nationals have been advised not to travel to Iraq, apart from essential travel to its Kurdistan Region, while all but essential travel to Iran was warned against.
The guidance was bolstered this afternoon after the US announced it was sending nearly 3,000 extra troops to the region after Donald Trump authorized the killing of Soleimani early on Friday.
Thousands of mourners chanting ‘death to America’ also took to the streets of Baghdad, where the head of Iran’s elite Quds force was targeted at the capital’s international airport on Friday.
The day of mourning in the Iraqi capital ended Saturday evening with a series of rockets that were launched and fell inside or near the Green Zone, which houses government offices and foreign embassies, including the US Embassy.
And around the world, anti-war protesters in New York, London, Berlin, and Washington DC chanted against the escalation of warfare carried out by President Trump.
NEW YORK, USA: An anti-War protest organised by anti-fascist groups including Code Pink, a woman-led peace movement, marched behind flags and banners
Demonstrators also marched from the White House to the Trump International Hotel to protest US military involvement in the Middle East
Iranian members of the Basij militia take part in an anti-US rally to protest the killing of Soleimani at Palestine Square in the Tehran
TORONTO, CANADA: Iranian-Canadians gather to celebrate the death of a top Iranian general Soleimani on Friday bearing the flags of pre-Islamic Revolution Iran
The U.S. Embassy (pictured) located in Baghdad, Iraq, was nearly under siege by enraged mourners earlier this week
Tel Aviv, a prominent city in Israel, has also be singled out as a possible target for attack by General Gholamali Abuhamzeh
Thousands of mourners flooded the streets to mourn the deaths of Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, an Iraqi militia commander, on Saturday (pictured)
The President has claimed that Soleimani was ‘the number one terrorist in the world’ and had a ‘sick passion’ for killing.
He has said the strike was designed to avert a war because the general was plotting terror attacks. The Iranian regime responded by vowing to exact ‘severe revenge’, saying ‘Trump and his cronies’ would ‘never sleep comfortably again’.
Security sources warn that Iran is likely to respond in multiple ways. While a traditional military confrontation remains unlikely, an acceleration of proxy war activity is likely to be paired with direct attacks on UK and US assets, most probably in the Straits of Hormuz.
The National Cyber Security Centre is also braced for a possible major cyber attack. Ministers are also monitoring economic effects as oil price rises could result in higher fuel costs.
Amid the growing concern about Ms. Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the Foreign Office warned yesterday that other British nationals could be ‘arbitrarily’ detained by the authorities in Iran.
A British general who went head to head with Soleimani during the Iraq War has called on the UK to develop its own foreign policy independent of the US after President Trump’s ‘assassination by whim’.
Major General Jonathan Shaw, 62, Britain’s senior officer in southern Iraq while Soleimani was directing terrorist operations which killed scores of British soldiers, said the UK’s ‘default position’ of following the US lead on foreign policy was no longer safe.
The hand and ring of Soleimani photographed after he was killed by a U.S. drone strike that sent missiles at his vehicle while leaving the Baghdad Airport on Friday morning
Mourners surround a car carrying the coffin of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani through the streets of Baghdad on Saturday
An Iranian woman breaks down in tears during an anti-US rally to protest the killing of the popular and revered general
Maj Gen Shaw said: ‘Not telling the UK beforehand [about the drone strike], despite us having 400 service personnel and many civilians in the country, demonstrated a flagrant disregard for the safety of anyone but Americans.
‘This is not so much America First as America Only.’
The Foreign Office said anyone in Iraq outside the Kurdistan Region should consider leaving by commercial means because the ‘uncertain’ security situation ‘could deteriorate quickly’.
It also advised against ‘all but essential travel’ to Iran.
Alerts regarding other Middle East nations were also being increased, with warnings that Britons should ‘remain vigilant’ in Afghanistan, Israel, Lebanon, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the updated advice was issued due to ‘heightened tensions in the region’ and would be kept under review.
‘The first job of any Government is to keep British people safe,’ he added.
The US President said he ordered a strike to prevent a conflict, but Tehran has vowed harsh retaliation – raising fears of an all-out war.
Whitehall insiders also said that the rift between the US and the UK posed a threat to a trip to Washington being planned by the Prime Minister next month.
A source said: ‘These things are delicate enough to organize at the best of times, and it’s clear the White House is p***** off.’
One Government source described the Cobra meeting on Friday afternoon as ‘spicy’, with officials infuriated by the lack of direction from politicians and weak public response.
An Iranian member of the Basij militia struggles to contain the emotion as he takes part in an anti-US rally in Baghdad
A woman carries an image of Soleimani, who was killed by a US airstrike in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, during an anti-US protest in Tehran
An Iranian woman crisis while another holds her face during an anti-US rally to protest the killing of Soleimani
An American official denied the nation was behind a second deadly airstrike on two vehicles being reported north of Baghdad.
Gen Soleimani masterminded Tehran’s regional security strategy, including the war against the Islamic State terror group, and was blamed for attacks on US and allied troops.
President Trump continued with his rhetoric despite widespread calls for calm, saying that Gen Soleimani’s ‘reign of terror is over’ and describing him as having a ‘sick passion’ for killing.
The former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt stressed the peril being faced after recent ‘extreme’ actions by both the US and Iran, which have simmered since Mr. Trump tore up a nuclear deal between the nations.
‘Well it’s an incredibly dangerous game of chicken that’s going on at the moment, because both sides have calculated that the other side cannot afford, and doesn’t want, to go to war,’ he told BBC Radio 4’s Today program.
Mr. Hunt said the tensions created a ‘very difficult situation’ for the UK as an ally of the States, adding Britain ‘cannot afford to be neutral’.
‘But this is a very, very risky situation, and I think the job that we have to do as one of the US’s closest allies is to use our influence to argue for more consistent US policy,’ he said.
There has been criticism of the US for not giving advanced notice of the attack to the UK, which has hundreds of troops deployed in Iraq.
Mr. Hunt said the failure to notify was ‘regrettable’ because allies should ensure ‘there are no surprises in the relationship’.
The anti-US rally in Tehran’s Palestine Square drew thousands of people
Iranians take part in an anti-US rally at Palestine Square in the capital Tehran on Saturday
Women hold up posters of Soleimani as they protested his killing in the Iran capital
Iraqi Shiite women mourn the death of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Soleimani during a funeral procession made of thousands of citizens held in central Baghdad on Saturday
Boris Johnson has been on holiday on the private Caribbean island of Mustique and has not commented on the general’s killing.
Jeremy Corbyn wrote to the Prime Minister calling for an urgent meeting of the Privy Council, the group that advises monarchs.
The outgoing Labour leader wanted to know if the ‘assassination’ had heightened the terror risk to the UK and whether the Government had been informed of the decision to strike.
He had earlier called on ministers to stand up to the US’s ‘belligerent actions and rhetoric’ and ‘urge restraint’ from both aggressors.
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