Britain could potentially support Israel in its conflict with Iran, but the decision to send additional military jets to the Middle East was made mainly to protect British bases and personnel, British finance minister Rachel Reeves said on Sunday.
Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on each other overnight into Sunday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacks by Israel so far were nothing compared with what Iran would see in the coming days.
Speaking to Sky News, Reeves called for a de-escalation in the conflict and said the decision to send additional jets to the region was a “precautionary move”.
Asked if Britain would come to Israel’s aid if asked, Reeves said: “We have, in the past, supported Israel when there have been missiles coming in.”
She added: “We’re sending in assets to both protect ourselves and also potentially to support our allies.”
Britain was involved last year in protecting Israel from missile attacks from Iran. In April, British planes shot down Iranian drones heading for Israel and in October it said two of its fighter jets and an air-to-air refuelling tanker were involved in trying to intercept Iranian missiles. The jets did not engage any targets.
However, since then Britain and Israel have repeatedly clashed over the way Israel has conducted its war in Gaza.
Last week, Britain imposed sanctions on two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, accusing them of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians.
Israel called the decision “outrageous” and said the government was deciding how to respond.
Separately, Britain’s foreign ministry updated its guidance on Sunday to advise against all travel to Israel.
On Friday, the foreign ministry warned against all but essential travel to Israel.
(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill）
