UK moving jets to Middle East for ‘contingency support in the region’
Al Mayadeen | June 14, 2025
The United Kingdom is sending additional fighter jets and support aircraft to the Middle East as part of what Prime Minister Keir Starmer described as “contingency support” for the region, following Israel’s deadly strikes on Iran.
Speaking en route to the G7 summit in Canada, Starmer reiterated calls for de-escalation but stopped short of ruling out military support for “Israel”. Asked whether British forces could be involved in defending “Israel” against Iranian retaliation, he said, “I will always make the right decisions for the UK,” adding, “We are moving assets to the region, including jets, and that is for contingency support in the region.”
Downing Street confirmed the move includes additional fast jets and refueling aircraft joining existing UK deployments. Preparations reportedly began Friday, just hours after Israeli forces launched a wave of airstrikes targeting senior Iranian military leaders and nuclear facilities.
Pressed further on the UK’s potential involvement in countering Iranian missiles or drones, Starmer declined to offer specifics, “These are obviously operational decisions and the situation is ongoing and developing, and therefore I’m not going to get into the precise details. But we are moving assets… and that is for contingency support across the region.”
No word on prior knowledge of Israeli strikes
The UK government has not confirmed whether it had prior knowledge of the Israeli operation, although Starmer indicated coordination was taking place: “I’m not going to go into what information we had at the time or since… there’s a constant flow of information between our allies, and between us and the US.”
The prime minister also revealed that he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump, and other world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“I suspect that when we get to the G7 there will be many other exchanges of views on an intense basis,” Starmer said. “We do have longstanding concerns about the nuclear programme that Iran has, and we do recognise Israel’s right to self-defence. But I am absolutely clear that this needs to de-escalate. There’s a huge risk to escalation for the region and more widely in terms of conflict. We have seen the impact already on the economy and oil prices.”
Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary David Lammy also spoke with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, echoing Starmer’s message for restraint, “We’re having ongoing discussions with our allies all of the time,” Starmer said, “Our constant message is de-escalate.”
Diplomatic Collapse
The Iranian Foreign Ministry declared further nuclear negotiations with the US “pointless” under these conditions, asserting that “Israel’s hostile measures against Iran were the result of Washington’s direct support for the regime.”
Oman has since confirmed the cancellation of the Muscat talks, reflecting the collapse of diplomacy under Western duplicity.
As Iran reaffirms its legitimate right to self-defense under international law, the UK’s actions suggest not neutrality but strategic complicity.
The Islamic Republic continues to urge the international community to abandon double standards and take a principled stance against “Israel’s” lawless aggression.
Iran Hits Back; Big Missile Strike, Israel/US Face Long Attrition War; Zelensky Rejects Peace Talks
Alexander Mercouris | June 14, 2025
0:00 – Introduction and overview of the Israel-Iran conflict
0:29 – Initial assessment of Israeli strikes on Iran
1:31 – Discussion on Iranian military leadership and nuclear facilities
3:01 – Iranian missile response to Israeli strikes
5:21 – Analysis of Iranian air defense system effectiveness
7:59 – Implications of the ongoing conflict for Israel and Iran
12:00 – Israel’s inability to sustain a prolonged conflict with Iran
14:34 – Concerns about Israel’s air defense capabilities
18:20 – Potential Iranian strategies in response to Israeli actions
20:14 – Gulf States’ diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the conflict
23:29 – Russian response to Israeli strikes and diplomatic mediation
25:02 – Summary of international reactions to the conflict
30:07 – Discussion of the U.S. role and internal dysfunction regarding the conflict
49:30 – Predictions about the future of the Israel-Iran conflict
52:44 – Conclusion and call for diplomatic resolution
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A New Era Of Mass Armies Approaches
BY IAN WELSH | SEPTEMBER 29, 2023
The army, or a part of it at the war college, has perked up and noticed some of the lessons of the Ukraine war, and that it’s a war that the US military could not fight. They’ve missed a lot of things, or felt they couldn’t/shouldn’t write about them, but they’ve figured some stuff out and written about them in a new report, “A Call to Action: Lessons from Ukraine for the Future Force” by Lieutenant Colonel Katie Crombe, and Professor John A. Nagle.
The entire thing is worth reading, but I’m going to pull out three of the main points. The first is that a volunteer US military can’t fight a real war.
The Russia-Ukraine War is exposing significant vulnerabilities in the Army’s strategic personnel depth and ability to withstand and replace casualties.11 Army theater medical planners may anticipate a sustained rate of roughly 3,600 casualties per day, ranging from those killed in action to those wounded in action or suffering disease or other non-battle injuries. With a 25 percent predicted replacement rate, the personnel system will require 800 new personnel each day. For context, the United States sustained about 50,000 casualties in two decades of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. In large-scale combat operations, the United States could experience that same number of casualties in two weeks. (emphasis mine)
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