The UK Armed Forces would not be able to protect Israel from Iranian ballistic missile attacks, former Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has claimed.
RAF Typhoon fighter jets may lack the defense mechanisms needed to stop an attack like the one launched by Iran on Tuesday.
In the attack, Iran fired nearly 200 long-range missiles in its largest attack yet against Israel.
The United Kingdom was relegated to a supporting role, assisting the United States in the defense of Israel.
Wallace claimed that the UK’s Type-45 anti-missile destroyers would also struggle to respond. The telegraph reported for the first time.
The Royal Navy warship HMS Defender tests its Sea Viper missile system off the coast of Scotland in May 2019.
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in Beirut’s southern suburb on Thursday.
Former Defense Secretary Ben Wallace (pictured) claimed the UK’s Type-45 anti-missile destroyers would struggle to respond.
Tom Sharpe, a retired Navy commander, said: “Our involvement (in the Iran response) was disappointing and is a reflection of 40 years of underfunding.”
The Armed Forces remain open to the changing situation in the Middle East, Ministry of Defense sources said last night.
Fears grew on Wednesday afternoon that Israel could unleash an attack on Iran’s nuclear, oil and military facilities in response to the ballistic missile attack.
The country’s political leaders are believed to favor significant and unequivocal retaliation, despite concerns that it could incite a seismic wave of conflict across the Middle East.
Officials reportedly presented battle plans to their American counterparts last night amid growing anticipation of military action “within days.”
Meanwhile, Britain asked Israel not to escalate the conflict. Thousands of UK citizens remaining in the region.
According to the sources, Israel is prepared to respond on its own, but wants to agree plans with allies who would likely participate in thwarting any new Iranian attack. US President Joe Biden said yesterday that “it remains to be seen” how Israel will respond.
Fears about the scale of Israel’s retaliation and its broader consequences have grown as fighting between the country’s troops and Iran-backed militia in southern Lebanon intensified.
Eight Israeli soldiers were killed in clashes with Hezbollah fighters and dozens were wounded. Fighting in Lebanon has killed 1,263 people, mostly civilians, in the last fortnight.
Calls for Israel to choose the strongest possible response to Tuesday night’s ballistic missile attack were led yesterday by a former prime minister.
Naftali Bennett, who left office in 2022, posted on X: ‘We must act now to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, its core energy facilities and fatally cripple this terrorist regime. We have the justification. We have the tools. Now Hezbollah and Hamas are paralyzed, Iran is exposed.”
His hardline stance was backed by Israel’s main opposition leader, Yair Lapid, who said: ‘Tehran knows Israel is coming. The response must send an unequivocal message to the terrorist axis and to Iran itself.”
People take photos and stand on the remains of a missile in Israel
People inspect the remains of a fallen missile in Israel on Wednesday after a missile attack by Iran.
But Britain continues to wage rearguard diplomatic action to prevent further escalation of the conflict. On a visit to a UK military base in the eastern Mediterranean, Defense Secretary John Healey said he had told his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, that Britain “totally condemns” the Iranian attack.
But speaking to reporters, he stressed: “Our biggest concern is to prevent this conflict from spiraling out of control and turning into a broader regional war.” Our view remains, and I put this argument to you, that the best way to reduce the fighting is a ceasefire in Lebanon and support of a United Nations plan for a negotiated solution.
“That’s the way we can get Israeli families to return to their homes in northern Israel and Lebanese families to return to their homes.”
their homes.’ His call was echoed by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who told the UN General Assembly in New York that the tit-for-tat fighting had to stop.
Guterres said: “It is time to stop the disgusting cycle of escalation after escalation that is leading the people of the Middle East straight to the precipice.”
On Wednesday night, Sir Keir Starmer joined other G7 leaders in calling for a de-escalation. Following an emergency meeting led by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the “Group of Seven” issued a joint statement expressing “great concern” over the recent escalation and stressing that a regional conflict was in no one’s interest.
An Israeli tank is seen advancing towards southern Lebanon
Israeli soldiers are seen entering rural areas of southern Lebanon ahead of an assault on Hezbollah positions.
In a bid to ensure that Israel’s response remains in step with that of its Western allies, President Biden will discuss the crisis with the country’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
A defiant Tehran told the United States to “stand aside” and repeated the warning of a “more overwhelming response” should Israel attack its military or industrial infrastructure.
Israel and Iran have never been closer to a major war, according to security sources, with both states apparently willing to go “all in” against the other.
Iran, which is increasingly aligned with Russia against the West, said yesterday that it “does not fear war” against Israel but that it is also not “seeking escalation.” Tehran is understood to be close to developing atomic weapons, although its government insists that the country’s nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Iran’s UN envoy said Tuesday night’s attack, in which molten missile shrapnel rained down on Israeli cities, was necessary to restore balance in the region.
Meanwhile, yesterday Israel continued its attacks on Gaza. According to local reports, 51 Palestinians were killed in an airstrike on a school that the Israel Defense Forces said was used as a base by Hamas.
A charter plane carrying British citizens from Lebanon landed in Birmingham last night.