John Healey declines to rule out UK aircraft taking part in Iran strikes

The Defence Secretary met his counterpart in Cyprus earlier on Thursday to ease tensions about Britain’s response to drone attacks on the island NewsUKUK PoliticsJohn Healey declines to rule out UK aircraft taking part in Iran strikesThe Defence Secretary met his counterpart in Cyprus earlier on Thursday to ease tensions about Britain’s response to drone attacks on the islandHelen Corbett, Sophie Wingate, David Lynch, Nina Lloyd, Harry Thompson & Harry TaylorThursday 05 March 2026 23:17 GMTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popoverStarmer to send more UK fighter jets to Cyprus as Iran conflict intensifiesYour support helps us to tell the storyRead moreSupport NowFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreDefence Secretary John Healey has declined to rule out UK aircraft participating in strikes on Iran. During a trip to Cyprus, he was asked if he would preclude British aircraft from offensive military action against the nation.In an interview with Sky News, he said: “As circumstances in any conflict change, you’ve got to be willing to adapt the action you take.“I’m doing that by bringing in anti-drone helicopters in overnight. I’m doing that in the next couple of weeks to bring in the Type 45 air defence destroyer.“I’m doing that by bringing in the top planners to help … co-ordinate the sort of contribution that other nations are now starting to make … the German frigate in the area, and Greek ships also now joining.”Pressed again on whether he would rule out British aircraft taking part in offensive operations over Iran, he said: “Everything that we have done is defensive, is legal and is co-ordinated with other allies.“That’s one of the great strengths that Britain, Nato allies and long-standing partners like Qatar, like Jordan, like Cyprus, have in working with the Brits.”open image in galleryDefence Secretary John Healey has travelled to Cyprus (Leon Neal/Getty Images)The Defence Secretary met his counterpart in Cyprus earlier on Thursday to ease tensions about Britain’s response to drone attacks on the island.The government has faced criticism over its failure to have enough military assets in the Middle East and the pace of its response after an Iranian-made drone hit the British base RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.More than 400 extra air defence personnel have been sent to the UK’s bases in Cyprus.Two Wildcat helicopters armed with drone-busting missiles will arrive in Cyprus on Friday.HMS Dragon, a type 45 warship, is also being deployed as part of the build-up, but is unlikely to arrive in the Mediterranean until next week.Cyprus’s high commissioner to the UK, Kyriacos Kouros, had said a British military presence to defend the island was “the least we expect” as he pointed to naval assets being sent earlier by other European nations.Overnight on Monday, a hangar at RAF Akrotiri was hit by an Iranian-made Shahed drone, which was launched from Beirut in Lebanon, according to Cypriot officials.Two further drones detected on Monday were shot down by British warplanes, which took off from Akrotiri.Mr Healey said he had been moving extra jets, air defence systems, radars and drone teams to Cyprus “weeks before” the conflict started on Saturday.Put to him that the French had put a frigate to sea immediately while the UK’s HMS Dragon needed to be readied, he said bringing defence planners to Cyprus will help to coordinate the contributions from the UK and other nations.Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer had earlier announced that four extra British Typhoon fighter jets are being deployed to Qatar.The Prime Minister also defended the government against criticism from Donald Trump over the UK’s decision not to get involved in the initial strikes.open image in galleryStarmer said that four extra British Typhoon fighter jets are being deployed to Qatar (Jaimi Joy/Pool via REUTERS)The US president said Sir Keir is no Winston Churchill, while the Prime Minister has also faced domestic criticism from his political opponents for failing to build a larger presence in the Middle East before the conflict began.And in his latest salvo on Thursday, Mr Trump told the New York Post that the UK had been “very disappointing”and that Sir Keir should be supporting the US “without question or hesitation”.