Rishi Sunak has confirmed that RAF planes were involved in the shooting down of Iranian drones and missiles overnight
About 300 explosive drones and ballistic missiles were fired at Israel on Saturday night in reprisal for the killing of top Iranian Revolutionary Guard commanders.
Downing Street confirmed that RAF pilots shot down “a number” of attack drones.
The Ministry of Defense had earlier said RAF jets were deployed in Iraq and Syria to intercept “any airborne attacks within range of our existing missions.”
Sunak thanked British fighter pilots for excellent work last night in the defense of Israel as he described Iran’s attack as a dangerous and unnecessary escalation.
Defence Secretary Grant Schapps added
Last night the UK intercepted and destroyed multiple one-way attack drones – launched by Iran and its proxies – that posed a threat to civilian lives in the Middle East.
Additional RoyalAirForce aircraft were deployed this weekend to bolster our presence. I thank our armed forces personnel for responding so quickly and effectively to such a serious threat. Their professionalism is second to none. All aircraft returned safely to base.
Israel’s war cabinet is meeting this afternoon to discuss whether to “break all the dishes” in its response to the Iranian attack, but sources from the United States say that his was called off due to pressure from US president Joe Biden
Earlier Israeli Benny Gantz said that “this event is not over” and that a regional coalition must be built to “collect the price from them”.
Speaking in a video message, Mr Gantz said: “Faced with the threat of Iran – we will build a regional coalition and collect the price from them, in the way and at the time we see fit; this event is not over – the strategic alliance and the regional cooperation system we have built need to be strengthened right now.”
“We must remember that we are yet to complete our missions – most importantly, returning the hostages and removing the threat from residents of Israel’s north and south,” he added.
