Britain sends 4 new fighter jets to Qatar, but insists UK still only ‘defensive’

The UK government has sent four more Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets to Qatar in the middle of Iran’s retaliatory bombardment of US interests there. But it continues to insist that it is not playing a direct role in the illegal US-Israeli war on Iran. A Ministry of Defence statement reads:

Today, we can confirm we are sending four additional @RoyalAirForce Typhoon jets to Qatar, to support defensive operations in the region.

These aircraft are in addition to the existing jets from the UK-Qatar Joint Typhoon Squadron that we deployed in January to reinforce regional security and protect British people and interests.

The message is clear: the UK will stand by its allies and will take the necessary steps to defend our people and our interests.

The Typhoon is often used for air defence, but is also designed for strikes on shipping and ground targets. Even if it is not yet being used for attack missions, that can change in as long as it takes to issue the order.

Iran has sent a stream of drones and missiles against the US base in Qatar and other military/strategic interests. Keir Starmer desperately maintains that the UK is not engaged in the war on Iran — but defending the attackers’ assets with warplanes that are capable of attacking Iran still makes the UK a combatant and therefore a legitimate target for retaliation under international law.

Featured image via Forces News