UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed that British fighter jets successfully shot down several Iranian drones during an aggressive attack on Israel, underscoring a major escalation in Middle East tensions.
Speaking from Downing Street, Sunak called for “calm heads to prevail” following the incident, which involved a coordinated effort to intercept nearly all missiles and drones launched by Iran in its first direct assault on Israeli territory.
“We stand by the security of Israel and the wider region, which is of course important for our security here at home, and what we now need is for calm heads to prevail,” Sunak stated, highlighting the potential regional instability that could have resulted had the attack succeeded.
The Prime Minister also outlined the UK’s commitment to de-escalation: “We’ll be working with our allies to de-escalate the situation and I look forward to speaking to G7 leaders later this afternoon,” he added.
Sunak further confirmed that the Royal Air Force had played a critical role in defending against the attack.
“British Royal Air Force planes did shoot down a number of Iranian attack drones,” he said, corroborating Defence Minister Grant Shapps’ announcement that UK warplanes “intercepted and destroyed multiple one-way attack drones launched by Iran and its proxies.”
Shapps noted on social media platform X that these drones had posed serious threats to civilian lives, with all British aircraft safely returning to base.
The Defence Ministry also reported the deployment of additional fighter jets and air refuelling tankers to the Middle East in response to the ongoing threats from Iran, as part of an augmented British military presence already targeting the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.
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