Starmer announces the shipment of four Typhoon fighters to Qatar and Wildcat anti-drone helicopters to Cyprus

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, announced this Thursday the sending of four Typhoon combat aircraft to reinforce the capabilities of the Air Force in Qatar and Wildcat anti-drone helicopters to Cyprus, in the midst of the escalation of war in the Middle East as a result of the attacks launched by the United States and Israel against Iran and its corresponding response.

Starmer has assured that “long before” the military operations of the United States and Israel, the United Kingdom had already deployed its own capabilities in the region to defend its interests, as they did shortly after the exchange of attacks between the parties began.

“We shot down several drones, at least one of which was headed to a British military base,” Starmer said in a press conference, in which he confirmed that the United States has been allowed to use its facilities only for “defensive operations” that also benefit the interests of the United Kingdom.

“We will maintain this shield,” said Starmer, who insisted that the United Kingdom did not receive any request from Washington to use these bases until Saturday afternoon, when the operation that the president of the United States, Donald Trump, called ‘Epic Fury’ had already begun.

In that sense, he explained that a decision did not have to be made until then, which finally had the unanimity of his entire cabinet. That is why he has reproached those who are currently trying to divide British society from the country and in the midst of great uncertainty.

“As a nation, we must come together at this time. The citizens who are stranded in the region, scared and in need of help, come from all backgrounds. The Armed Forces that protect them also come from all backgrounds. We are united by our common humanity and our love for this country,” he said.

Starmer has put the number of British citizens who have managed to return on commercial flights from the United Arab Emirates at around 4,000, although the authorities have registered more than 140,000 scattered throughout the region.

These tasks are “enormous” and “much bigger than the evacuation of Afghanistan,” he said, alluding to the massive departure of thousands of people from Kabul after the arrival of the Taliban in August 2021. “It will not happen overnight, but we will not stop until our people are safe,” he stressed.

Starmer has also rejected criticism of the United Kingdom’s delay in reacting and has insisted that since January and February it has been strengthening British positions in the region, in collaboration with the United States and other partners. “We are doing everything possible and we have done it quickly to ensure we adequately protect our citizens,” he stressed.

Regarding Trump’s criticism and his allusion to the ‘special relationship’ that Winston Churchill coined to define the historic alliance between Washington and London, Starmer has pointed out that “that cooperation is working right now.”

“We work with the Americans on deployment from our bases. We work together in the region (…) to protect both the United States and the United Kingdom in the joint bases where we are located, and we share intelligence 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” he highlighted.

“That is the ‘special relationship,'” said Starmer, who stressed that just as Trump is responsible for making decisions based on the national interest of the United States, he, as British Prime Minister, is responsible for doing the same for his country. “There is no controversy,” he concluded.