'UK not a target,' says PM after Tehran fired long-range missiles - amid warnings of 'serious' threat
The Prime Minister dodged questions this morning on whether Iran could hit targets in Britain with long-range missiles.
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Fears have been sparked that Iran could strike targets thousands of miles away - after two missiles were fired at the Diego Garcia military base on Friday, 2,360 miles from Iran.
One was shot down by a US warship while the other reportedly fell into the ocean around 400 miles short.
Israel has said the launches show that Tehran ‘can reach London, Paris or Berlin’ with strikes.
Sir Keir was asked this morning whether targets in Britain could be hit. He replied that there was currently “no assessment that we’re being targeted.”
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“We carry out assessments all the time in order to keep us safe, and there's no assessment that we're being targeted in that way at all.
“But of course, it's my job to ensure that British interests, British lives are always uppermost in my mind.
“What we need here is de-escalation, and that's why we had a statement from a number of countries last week about what we need to do about the Strait of Hormuz, which obviously needs careful coordination and a viable plan.
“But it's very important we defend our interests, we defend British lives, but without getting dragged into the war, and that's the clear divide I've put in place.”
A former Nato chief said today that the threat of missiles reaching London “must me taken seriously.”
General Sir Richard Shirreff, who was Nato Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, stressed that the risk of such an attack was “low but serious.”
He said: “If any country has a missile capable of travelling the sort of distances we are talking about with the sort of intent that Iran definitely has if we are supporting the United States by the use of bases then it’s a risk that has to be taken seriously.
“But the chances of it getting here are pretty remote given the Nato ballistic missile defences that exists between us and Iran, although the UK’s own capabilities frankly are pretty limited.”
Iran has warned it will strike electrical plants across the Middle East if US president Donald Trump follows through on his threat to bomb power stations in the Islamic Republic.
The threat by Tehran puts at risk both electrical supplies and water in the Gulf Arab states, particularly as the desert nations commingle their power stations with desalination plants crucial for drinking water supplies.
Following the threat, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency published a list of such facilities, including the United Arab Emirates' nuclear power plant.
Over the weekend, Iran launched missiles targeting Dimona in Israel, near a facility key to its long-suspected atomic weapons programme. The Israeli facility was not damaged in the barrage.
Mr Trump said the US would attack Iran's power stations unless the country releases its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz.
He imposed a 48-hour deadline which expires just before midnight GMT on Tuesday, raising the stakes of the ongoing war with Iran that has disrupted global energy supplies, sending natural gas and petrol prices soaring.