The UK government is reportedly weighing up the option to dispatch the Type 45 missile destroyer HMS Duncan to the Middle East.
The escalation in the conflict in the region continues on its third day after joint US-Israel airstrikes over the weekend, and Iran’s retaliation targeting its neighbors and American interests.
US allies are struggling to avoid being drawn into the conflict, which has put global security, trade and travel at risk.
Now the British government is believed to be considering sending the Royal Navy’s HMS Duncan into the region, according to the Press Association.
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However, no decision has been made on any deployments and they are currently under review, Metro understands.
As hundreds of thousands of British nationals are stranded in the region after closure of airspaces and limited flights, ministers are drawing up plans on how to bring people home.
Most flights to and from Doha and Dubai, one of the busiest airports in the world, have been cancelled.
Rumours around HMS Duncan’s deployment suggest it could be used to evacuate Britons.
A charter flight organized by the government is set to take off from Muscat, Oman, ‘in the coming days,’ Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said.
Oman is one of the few Gulf countries where flights are still operating, sparking an exodus of people from neighboring United Arab Emirates to cross the border to find alternative flights.
The Prime Minister said yesterday that the UK would not join US-Israeli strikes against Iran, citing the ‘mistakes of Iraq.’
He said: ‘We all remember the mistakes of Iraq, and we have learned those lessons. Any UK actions must always have a lawful basis, and a viable thought-through plan.
‘That is the principle that I applied to the decisions that I made over the weekend.’
It comes after Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump are at loggerheads over UK’s initial decision to block the US from using the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean in the first strikes against Iran.
Sir Keir did finally give permission yesterday so that the US military could use British bases.
But the response drew criticism from Trump, who said he was ‘very disappointed’ over the initial refusal.
Yesterday, a sovereign British air base, the RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, was hit by drones.
France said it is planning to send air defense systems to the Mediterranean island after the incident.
Sir Keir said the drone attack was not in retaliation to his decision to permit US military presence on Chagos Islands.
Where is HMS Duncan based?
Royal Navy’s HMS Duncan is located at Portsmouth Naval Base when it is not sailing.
The 500-foot Type 45 missile destroyer can carry over 200 personnel, and it has been previously deployed to the Persian Gulf following tensions in 2019.
Duncan, which set sail in 2010, is said to be one of the most advanced warships in the world.
It is armed with the Harpoon anti-ship missile system.
HMS Duncan and the other Type 45 class are estimated to have cost around £1 billion per vessel.
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