Britain raised the threat level for its forces in Iraq and the Gulf on Thursday, as the UK repaired a breach with the United States which had erupted earlier this week after a British general had contradicted claims made by the Trump administration.
The heightened state of alert covers 400 forces personnel in Iraq, who provide training and support in the country, as well as soldiers and their families based in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar.
Jeremy Hunt, the UK foreign secretary, declared that he and his US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, now shared “the same assessment of the heightened threat posed by Iran. As always we work closely with the US.”
Earlier this month, the US had accused Iranian regime forces of being engaged in “provocation” in Iraq and Syria, and used that to justify the sending of an aircraft carrier and a bomber taskforce to the Middle East.
But this week, the leading British general in the coalition against Isis had unexpectedly disagreed with the American assessment of the military threat in the region, earning him a rare rebuke from the US.
Maj Gen Christopher Ghika, a deputy commander of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), had told a Pentagon briefing that there was “no increased threat from Iranian-backed forces in Iraq and Syria”.
US central command, which covers the Middle East and Afghanistan, put out a statement which made clear its disagreement shortly after the briefing. “Recent comments from OIR’s deputy commander run counter to the identified credible threats available to intelligence from US and allies regarding Iranian-backed forces in the region,” it said.
But on Thursday, the MoD indicated that its assessment had changed. A spokesman would not comment on the threat level specifically but added: “We keep the security of our deployed personnel and assets under constant review.”
The spokesman continued: “There is a range of threats to UK and coalition forces in this part of the world: that is why we have a very robust range of force protection measures. The UK has long been clear about our concerns over Iran’s destabilising behaviour in the region.”
In the past week, the UK has also reviewed its naval deployment in the region as tensions have risen. A type 23 frigate, four minesweepers and a floating bases are already stationed in Bahrain.
Royal Navy forces participate in various bilateral operations as part of the US Fifth Fleet in the Gulf, as well as in a 27 country coalition whose activities engaged largely in anti-piracy measures off the coast of Somalia.
Separately, Iran’s foreign minister said sanctions imposed by the Trump administration are “unacceptable” but added that his country is committed to an international nuclear deal that has steadily unraveled amid rising tensions.
On a visit to Tokyo, Mohammad Zarif defended Iran’s right to respond to the US pullout from the nuclear deal last year and ensuing imposition of sanctions by the Trump administration.
“We believe that escalation by the United States is unacceptable and uncalled for. We have exercised maximum restraints,” he said. In other comments carried on the semi-official Mehr news agency, Zarif was quoted as saying “a multilateral deal cannot be treated unilaterally”.
Four commercial ships were targets of a sabotage attack off the coast of the UAE on Sunday, east of the emirate of Fujairah. Anwar Gargash, the country’s foreign minister, said on Thursday that it expected to complete investigations what happened to the ships within the next two days.
“Iran should be aware that it is principally responsible for the instability in the region,” Gargash added and demanded that any future nuclear deal had to involve Arab states like his own. “There must be an Arab role in any framework of future agreement with Iran.”
Last May, the Trump administration pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal agreed in 2015 and subsequently reinstated sanctions against the country. Earlier this month, Iran responded by threatened to reduce compliance and increase uranium enrichment, prompting the US to step up its response.
Arab News, a Saudi-owned newspaper, has published an editorial calling for a surgical strike on Iran.
