British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Saturday that Royal Air Force (RAF) jets were being deployed to the Middle East.
The move comes after Iran threatened to target British, French and US bases if they help stop Iranian strikes on Israel.
“We are moving assets to the region, including jets, and that is for contingency support,” Starmer told reporters on board his plane to Ottawa, where he will attend a G7 summit starting Sunday.
The UK already has fighter jets in the Middle East as part of its operations against the “Islamic State” (IS) group.
Starmer told the reporters on the flight that he would continue urging de-escalation of the conflict between long-time enemies Israel and Iran, adding that the “intense” developments of the past few days would be discussed with his G7 partners.
He declined to provide “precise details” because the “situation is ongoing and developing.”
“Our constant message is de-escalate, and therefore everything we’re doing, all discussions we’re having are to do with de-escalation,” Starmer added.
The prime minister also refused to be drawn on whether the UK would intervene in the conflict directly, saying “I’m not going to get into that.”
