UK considering sending drones to Gulf amid Iran crisis
The UK is considering sending drones to the Gulf
amid an ongoing crisis with Iran, Sky News reported Monday.
The unmanned aircraft would provide surveillance
above the Arabian Gulf.
The UK's Royal Air Force (RAF) has a number of
Reaper drones based in nearby Kuwait and flying over Iraq and Syria. These
could be re-tasked if the decision to deploy drones to the Gulf is taken, Sky
News reported.
Britain announced in August it would be joining the
US in a maritime security mission in the Gulf to protect merchant vessels. The
UK has sent warships to escort all British-flagged vessels through the Strait
of Hormuz after Iran seized UK-flagged ship Stena Impero in July.
It was unclear which official Sky News cited for
this information. However, they cited senior British naval officer Commodore
Dean Bassett as saying, “The direct threat to those British merchant vessels
still stands. We’ve seen nothing to suggest that Iran is going to abide by its
international obligations.”
