UK defense sec.: Protection of British military, civilians in Mideast "priority"

LONDON, March 1 (KUNA) -- The protection of British military assets and civilians in the Middle East is a "priority" for the UK, Defense Secretary John Healey said Sunday.
In an interview with the BBC, Healey revealed that some British military personnel at a base in Bahrain had been "within several hundred yards" of an Iranian missile and drone strike on Saturday. A similar incident occurred in Cyprus.
"In that Bahrain military base that was hit by missiles and drones yesterday, we had 300 British personnel, some within several hundred yards of the strike," he said, adding that two ballistic missiles were fired in the direction of Cyprus, which he suspected was targeting of British assets.
Such attacks had put British military personnel and civilians "at risk with a regime that is increasingly indiscriminate, widespread and uncontrolled in the attacks it is mounting," he asserted, pointing out that the UK was doing all it could to prevent further regional escalation.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivered a televised address, in which he stressed that UK was not part of the US-Israeli occupation attack on Iran, emphasizing that British planes in the region were deployed for "defensive measures." Starmer also condemned Iran's attacks on countries in the region, calling on Tehran to cease hostilities and abandon its nuclear ambitions. (end) gta