Britain deploys warships to Persian Gulf to protect ‘ships and citizens’ as Boris Johnson flies home to deal with crisis
BRITAIN has sent two warships to the Persian Gulf after America assassinated Iran’s top general.
HMS Montrose and HMS Defender – a Type 23 frigate and Type 45 destroyer – will be accompanying British ships to “take all necessary steps to protect our ships and citizens” amid the tensions.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace ordered the warships to the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Iran as tensions are escalating in the region, according to The Telegraph.
And tomorrow, Boris Johnson will fly back to the UK from his holiday in Mustique as he faces the biggest test of his diplomacy in his premiership so far.
It comes as the Foreign Office escalated its warnings over travel to the Middle East after the drone attack ordered by Donald Trump killed Iranian military chief Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad.
Britain’s navy will also now accompany UK-flagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz to provide protection.
Defence minister Ben Wallace said he had ordered the warships HMS Montrose and HMS Defender to prepare to return to escort duties for all ships sailing under a British merchant flag.
“The government will take all necessary steps to protect our ships and citizens at this time,” he said.
It comes after Iran today pinpointed 35 “key US targets” as it unfurled a red flag of revenge after its top general was assassinated in a US drone strike.
Hours later, rockets were fired near the US Embassy in Baghdad and at an airbase housing American troops, according to reports.
BRIT TRAVEL WARNING
British nationals have now been advised not to travel to Iraq, apart from essential travel to its Kurdistan Region, and all but essential travel to Iran was warned against.
The Foreign Office said anyone in Iraq outside the Kurdistan Region should consider leaving immediately because the “uncertain” security situation “could deteriorate quickly”.
It also advised against “all but essential travel” to Iran.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the updated advice was issued due to “heightened tensions in the region.”
He added: “The first job of any Government is to keep British people safe.”
Two attacks in Iraq today came just hours after mourners chanted “death to America” at the funeral of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.
There are not believed to be any injuries after the rockets fell at the embassy compound – in the Iraqi capital’s green zone – and near Iraq’s Balad airbase.
REVENGE VOW
Missiles also rained down on Baghdad’s Jadriya neighbourhood – wounding five people, police said.
The chilling flag display is seen as a clear warning the Islamic Republic is ready to fulfil its worrying pledge to strike back at America and Donald Trump.
Red flags in Shiite tradition symbolise both blood spilled unjustly and serve as a call to avenge a person who is slain.
It was hoisted above the important Jamkaran Mosque which is on the outskirts of the holy city of Qom, about 100 miles south of Tehran.
It took to the skies as General Qasem Soleimani’s daughter pleaded with the Iranian president to strike back over her father’s death.
“Who is going to avenge my father’s blood,” she was reported as asking Hassan Rouhani during his visit to the family’s Tehran home.
Mr Rouhani replied: “We will avenge, all of us will avenge his blood. Don’t you worry.”