The United Kingdom is considering deploying British drones to the Persian Gulf amid tensions with Iran, Sky News reported early on Monday.
UK's Royal Air Force has a number of Reaper drones based in nearby Kuwait and flying over Iraq and Syria. These could be retasked if the decision to deploy drones to the Gulf is taken, according to the report.
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The drones will help with overhead surveillance as British warships continue to escort UK-flagged tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.
On Friday, the UK called for broad support to tackle Gulf shipping threats after Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized a British-flagged oil tanker in the strait in July.
Britain in early August said it was joining a US-led maritime security mission in the Gulf to protect merchant vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz.
The free flow of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is of international importance because one-fifth of all global crude exports passes through the waterway from Mideast exporters to countries around the world. The narrow waterway sits between Iran and Oman.
