United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on the 28th (local time) that British military aircraft were deployed to a regional defensive operation as U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and Iran's retaliatory strikes on Israel and U.S. military bases in the Middle East continued.
In a televised address, Starmer said, "As part of a coordinated regional defensive operation to protect our people, our interests, and our allies, British military aircraft were in the skies over the Middle East today."
Starmer stressed, however, that the U.K.'s operation is separate from the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and complies with international law. Toward Iran, he said it must refrain from further strikes, abandon its weapons program, and stop violence and repression against its own people, adding, "This is the path back to the negotiating table."
The Guardian, a British daily, reported it understands that Royal Air Force bases were not used for the U.S. attack on Iran. The Guardian said Starmer earlier rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's request to use Diego Garcia in the Chagos Archipelago and RAF Fairford.
However, the Guardian reported that six F-35 fighter jets and additional air defense systems have been deployed to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus to defend Middle Eastern countries including Israel and Jordan.
Starmer said he spoke with several European leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron, and called for a return to a diplomatic solution. The leaders of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany also issued a joint statement earlier, condemning in the strongest terms Iran's attacks on countries in the Middle East and urging the resumption of negotiations and for Iran's leadership to pursue a diplomatic resolution.
The three countries said they did not take part in the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran but added they are in close contact with the United States, Israel, and regional allies.