The Defence Secretary has insisted there is no indication that Iran is planning to attack the UK, seeking to reassure the public amid heightened international tensions.
John Healey said there is currently no intelligence assessment suggesting Tehran intends to target Britain, including London, though he declined to rule out the country’s potential capability.
Speaking to reports, Mr Healey said: “We have no assessment of Iranian plans to strike London,” when repeatedly asked whether the capital could be at risk from missile attacks.
Pressed on whether Iran possesses the capability to carry out such a strike, he emphasised that the Government’s position is based on current intelligence rather than speculation.
“What I’m saying, and trying to reassure people is, that we’ve got no assessment that Iran has any plans to attack,” he said.
“But we have the resources, we have the alliance in place to be able to defend Britain, and we do that with allies, and we do that with Nato.”
Mr Healey also pointed to Iran’s growing military activity across the Middle East, noting similarities between its tactics and those used by Russian forces in Ukraine. He suggested this reflects increasing cooperation between the two countries.
A newly released UK defence intelligence assessment states that Russia was “almost certainly” providing training and sharing intelligence with Iran ahead of the current conflict. This support is believed to include expertise in drone operations and electronic warfare.
Mr Healey described this as evidence of “the hidden hand of Putin” in both conflicts, adding that while Russia may seek to divert Western attention towards the Middle East, the UK remains focused on Ukraine.
The comments come as the Prime Minister warned that Western nations are facing a “war on two fronts”, as he met with allies at the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) leaders’ summit in Finland.
Speaking at the summit in Helsinki, he said the ongoing war in Ukraine and the conflict involving Iran and Israel are the two key areas currently affecting European security.
“The focus here is very much on Russian aggression in Ukraine and we have to accept that there’s a war on two fronts,” he said.
The Prime Minister also confirmed that British forces have been authorised to begin intercepting and boarding vessels linked to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, which are accused of breaching sanctions by transporting oil.
“These are ships that are unlawfully breaching sanctions, usually with oil,” he said. “We’ll be working with others on that project.”
Royal Marine commandos are expected to carry out the operations as part of efforts to increase pressure on Moscow’s illicit oil exports.
The summit is also expected to include discussions on defence spending and military capability, with the Prime Minister reiterating the UK’s commitment to increasing investment in defence.
