UK troops and civilians being put at risk by Iran strikes, Healey says

UK troops and civilians being put at risk by Iran strikes, Healey says 13 minutes ago Share Save Richard Wheeler Political reporter Share Save The defence secretary has said protecting UK military and civilians in the Middle East from "indiscriminate attacks" by Iran was his priority. John Healey told the BBC that "no-one will mourn" the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of US and Israeli air strikes on Iran. Healey said some British military personnel at a base in Bahrain had been "within several hundred yards" of a retaliatory missile and drone strike on Saturday, while two missiles had been fired in the direction of Cyprus. The UK did not participate in the US-Israeli strikes on Iran. The defence secretary said the government was reviewing the terror threat level in the UK. Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel told the programme she welcomed the US-Israeli attacks on Iran, adding it was "absolutely astonishing" Sir Keir Starmer had not been more "proactive" given the threats posed by the Iranian regime to UK interests. Since Saturday morning, Iran has launched waves of missile and drone attacks against targets across Israel, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait and Iraq. Healey told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: "In that Bahrain military base that was hit by missiles and drones yesterday, we had 300 British personnel, some within several hundred yards of the strike." He said two ballistic missiles were also "fired in the direction of Cyprus", adding: "Now, we're pretty sure they weren't targeted at Cyprus." He said these attacks demonstrated how British military personnel and civilians were "at risk with a regime that is increasingly indiscriminate, widespread and uncontrolled in the attacks it is mounting". Healey said the UK was attempting to do "all we can" to prevent further regional escalation, with British planes in the air throughout Saturday and overnight. John Healey Iran