United Kingdom Defense Secretary John Healey revealed that a pair of Iranian missiles landed dangerously close to British military installations situated in Cyprus (an island nation in the eastern Mediterranean and a European Union member state). "We are pretty sure they weren't targeted at our bases," the defense official stated.
In response to an Israel Hayom inquiry, the European Union's Ambassador to Israel, Michael Mann, said: "We condemn it unconditionally. It's totally unacceptable," as the incident now involves a European state in the Middle East, and US tensions.
Healey underscored that "it shows how indiscriminate" the recent onslaught from the Iranian regime has been, according to the publication. The secretary also highlighted that three hundred British military personnel were operating in close proximity to the blast zones in Bahrain (an island nation in the Persian Gulf), the outlet observed.
"Some of them were in several hundred yards of the missile strikes," Healey mentioned, according to The Independent. The official delivered these insights during media engagements shortly after United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed the deployment of defensive British "planes in the sky" patrolling the Middle East, the report detailed.
Healey amplified the prime minister's calls for the regime to terminate its hostile actions and "steps back from its increasing uncontrolled indiscriminate attacks in the region" while ensuring it "gives up its weapons programs," according to the outlet.
The turbulent situation escalated following sweeping pre-emptive bombardments by US and Israeli forces targeting Iranian combat infrastructure and the governmental hierarchy – an offensive that neutralized Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (the paramount religious and political figure in Iran).
While speaking with Sky News presenter Trevor Phillips, the defense leader observed, "Few people will mourn the Ayatollah's death," according to the publication. Healey maintains profound concerns regarding the severe regional reverberations that may follow the allied offensive against the regime, the report explained.
The secretary condemned Tehran for orchestrating twenty foiled extremist operations within British borders, causing the deaths of numerous Iranian civilians, and providing fifty thousand combat drones to Russian forces operating in Ukraine, The Independent stated. "Make no mistake that this is a regime which harasses other countries and can never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon," the official declared, according to the outlet.
Healey declined to evaluate the international legality of the pre-emptive US and Israeli bombardments targeting the Iranian establishment, the publication mentioned.
The defense chief firmly told Sky News, "No one who has seen the way that Iran has menaced us and sponsored terror around the world, been a source of instability in the region, is developing a nuclear weapons program, can be under any doubt about the character of this regime, and the threat it poses."
When prompted again to assess the legality of the American operations, the secretary responded, "That is for the US to set out and explain. It's not for me, as defense secretary of the UK, I'm here to speak for the UK," the report added. "I can speak for the very active participation that we have in coordinated defense across the region," Healey concluded, according to The Independent.
