Britain has ramped up its security in the Middle East and has given its troops 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 maneuvered 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. At least four rockets were fired towards Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone on Saturday night, where the US and British embassies sit.
Four rockets were fired at the heavily-fortified ‘Green Zone’ in Baghdad that’s home to both American and British embassies, as plans are now being made to send British troops to the Persian Gulf to protect the interests of the crown. The British embassy in Tehran is ever more at risk with fears of a hostage situation similar to the one that took place during the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
FROM DAILY MAIL UK: Britain has ramped up its security in the Middle East and has given its troops 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 maneuvered 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 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 re-orientate 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.
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.
Defense 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 defence chiefs are asking Mr Johnson whether to deploy eight RAF Typhoon jets based in Cyprus, a Sentinel spy plane and drones. READ MORE
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