UK allows US to use bases for Iran war after missiles fired at Diego Garcia
The UK has agreed to let the US use its bases for its war on Iran, following an apparent Iranian missile strike against Diego Garcia.
Iran fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at the US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean but did not hit it, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing multiple US officials.
One of the missiles failed in flight, while a US warship fired an SM-3 interceptor at the other. It could not be determined if the interception succeeded, the WSJ report said.
On Friday, the UK said it had agreed to allow the US to use British bases to launch strikes on Iranian sites, a decision reportedly made after the unsuccessful Diego Garcia attack.
Downing Street said that ministers had approved the action to help protect ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
"Iran's reckless attacks, lashing out across the region and holding hostage the Strait of Hormuz, are a threat to British interests and British allies," a Ministry of Defence spokesperson told Bloomberg.
"RAF jets and other UK military assets are continuing to defend our people and personnel in the region. This government has given permission to the US to use British bases for specific and limited defensive operations."
The move comes as the global energy market has been engulfed in crisis as a result of the war and Iran's shuttering of the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping route.
Iran's blockade of the strait - through which 20 percent of the world's oil and gas normally flows - and repeated attacks on energy infrastructure have sent crude oil prices soaring.
A barrel of North Sea Brent crude was up 3.26 percent on Friday to $112.19.
President Donald Trump said on Friday the US was getting very close to meeting its objectives and considering "winding down" the assault on Iran.
He called on countries that use the Strait of Hormuz to guard and police it "as necessary".
"The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it - The United States does not!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
"If asked, we will help these Countries in their Hormuz efforts, but it shouldn't be necessary once Iran's threat is eradicated."
Despite the continuing assault, the US Treasury Department on Friday gave a 30-day authorisation for the delivery and sale of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products, in an apparent attempt to steady energy prices.
Iran's top military spokesman General Abolfazl Shekarchi said on Friday his country would expand its retaliatory attacks to target US and Israeli officials worldwide.
According to Al Jazeera, Shekarchi warned that "parks, recreational areas and tourist destinations" worldwide won't be safe for the country's enemies.
The threat renewed concerns that Iran may revert to using asymmetric attacks beyond the Middle East as a pressure tactic.
Iran has stepped up its attacks on energy sites in Gulf Arab states after Israel bombed Iran's massive South Pars offshore natural gas field earlier in the week.
This article was sourced from Middle East Eye.
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