UK ‘TO BACK TRUMP WAR’
RAF stands by for Iran battle
AMERICA has urged the UK to join military action in Iran that could herald the start of a third Gulf War.
The US is considering a strike on the nation following a drone attack on a Saudi oil field and wants practical help from Britain.
US intelligence chiefs have shown British spies “compelling evidence” that the Iranians were behind the bombing.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is understood to be considering various options but is wary of the UK being dragged into conflict.
It is thought he favours economic sanctions against Iran and is said to be unconvinced that military action is the right course.
The move comes as the US announced that it was sending extra troops to Saudi Arabia.
British defence chiefs are now drawing up contingency plans to see what support they could provide in the event of an intervention by the US.
One possibility is that the RAF could offer its early warning AWACS aircraft, pictured right, to act as a flying command, control and communication centre.
The “eye in the sky” plane has powerful computers and radar that can identify enemy aircraft, drones and ground forces and coordinate attacks against them.
It was used in air strikes against Libya in 2011, as well as in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Other options include helping US jets refuel in flight and providing intelligence support from MI6’s network of Iranian agents.
A source said: “The US is trying to build a coalition of support to take some form of action against Iran. The UK is the US’s closest ally so not surprisingly we have been asked for our view.
“But we have been down this road before where the US produced intelligence prior to the invasion of Iraq only for the intelligence to be proved wrong.
“But this time it looks as if they have the Iranians bang to rights.
“The US has a wealth of intelligence and it all points to Iran. Every time the West refuses to act against Iranian aggression the ayatollahs become even more bold. They are now convinced the US will never attack them.” President Trump said the US was “locked and loaded” and accused Iran of lying over its involvement in the attack. He tweeted: “Remember when Iran shot down a drone, saying knowingly that it was in their ‘airspace’ when, in fact, it was nowhere close. They stuck strongly to that story knowing that it was a very big lie.”