More UK troops to be sent to Middle East, defence secretary announces. 8 hours ago. Cachella Smith,. Jonathan Beale,Defence correspondentand. Katy Watson,reporting from Doha. Amiri Diwan/Handout via REUTERS. Extra British troops and more UK air defence systems will be deployed to the Middle East for defensive action against Iranian attacks, bringing the total number of UK personnel involved in the defence of the Gulf and Cyprus to around 1,000.. On a trip to the Gulf nations, Defence Secretary John Healey said extra air defence teams and systems would be deployed to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait while the use of Typhoon jets in Qatar will be extended.. “My message to Gulf partners is: Britain’s best will help you defend your skies,” he said.. The UK’s position on the war in the Middle East is to participate in “defensive action” but US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised that stance.. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Monday the UK is “not going to get dragged into this war” but would continue to defend its interests and allies in the region.. The defence secretary has been visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain as the government announced the deployment of further systems, and associated teams, for the nations and for Kuwait.. Speaking to reporters from Qatar, Healey said the Gulf nations had praised the contributions of UK forces describing them as “a cornerstone” to their defence.. He added that Iran had been “expanding” its attacks in the region and that he expected the war to continue “for some weeks”.. Qatar warned earlier on Tuesday that attacks on its civilian infrastructure are a threat to the entire region.. The comments came after a power and desalination plant in Kuwait was damaged in an attack earlier this week.. Follow live updates: Trump tells the UK and other countries ‘go get your own oil’ from Strait of Hormuz. Visiting the UK Armed Forces at Dukhan air base, Healey said the government has extended the deployment of UK Typhoon jets to Qatar.. At the start of the month, Starmer said four additional jets would be sent to Qatar following the deployment of the Royal Air Force’s joint UK-Qatari Typhoon squadron in January.. Separately, the defence secretary told Saudi Arabia’s defence minister that the UK will deploy air defence missile system Sky Sabre there this week along with teams to operate the system.. The system, composed of radars, control node, and missile launchers, can intercept munitions and aircraft and will integrate within the wider air defences in the region, the ministry said.. The UK’s Lightweight Multirole Missile launcher, a short-range air defence system, has already been deployed to Bahrain along with UK experts who will work to integrate the system into Bahraini defences – and ground-based air defence missile system Rapid Sentry has arrived in Kuwait.. Ministry of Defence. Speaking on Monday, Starmer reiterated that UK troops will not be deployed on the ground in Iran.. “This is not our
