British Defence Minister and war veteran Al Carnes has warned of ‘very dangerous times’ as Britain faces threats from Russian submarine and warship activity and the growing Iran crisis.
British Defence Minister Al Carnes has warned that “we live in very dangerous times” due to growing threats from Russia and the Middle East from the “high north” to Iran. The warning comes more than two weeks after the US-Israeli war over Iran, during which British troops have faced drone and missile threats from Iran and its proxies.
Senior Western officials have confirmed that European forces are concerned about the strait and there are calls by the US to involve countries such as Britain. Britain’s refusal to send ships to help block the Strait of Hormuz has sparked giant tensions from US President Donald Trump to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
War veteran and Defense Minister Al Carnes (Image: PA)
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And this development comes as Iranian missile threats have blocked a key Gulf choke point, massively curtailing oil and gas flows and sending energy prices soaring globally. But our armed forces personnel are also monitoring Russian activities in the European Arctic region, from Greenland in the west to the Norwegian/Russian border in the east.
Mr Carnes told reporters how Russia has massively increased its submarine and warship operations in the High North and that our world has become “extraordinarily unstable”. Russian naval activity in the Arctic has increased by 30% recently, possibly because NATO’s attention has turned back to the Middle East and away from Ukraine.
Tense Times – President Donald Trump (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Mr Carnes, a former British commando and war veteran of multiple conflicts, said, “What I would say is that we live in very dangerous times. The High North has witnessed a 30% increase in subsurface and surface capacity, while Russia and the developing crisis in the Middle East are also contributing factors.
The situation is exceptionally frightening and more than I’ve probably seen in my 24 years of military experience. We continue to engage with allies and partners in a multinational approach to find solutions to some of these problems. As we move forward, the tactical level will not rely solely on military solutions. I would just like to say that planners and active service personnel, whether in the Air Force, Navy, Army or Marines, are all doing amazing work from the upper north to the Middle East. Way to go down.
“They are mapping, tracking and neutralising targets that pose a direct threat to both our service personnel, British citizens and indeed British interests, whether they are partners or allies.” He said Britain’s Navy and RAF warplanes have flown more than 650 hours to monitor and eliminate the drone and missile threat from Iran and its proxies.
And he confirmed that more than 40 drones had been “neutralised” and said that British soldiers – most of them serving with RAF regiments – could be credited with “…saving a large number of lives at the behest of British forces.” Other Western officials, who declined to be named, confirmed that there is growing unease at the prospect of any navy trying to secure the Strait of Hormuz, in Europe or elsewhere.
Building collapses in Beirut after Israeli attack (Image: Getty Images)
One said Britain had “…already discussed it with its European partners and many others beyond that.” The source said of the Strait of Hormuz crisis: “We’re in the very early stages and really trying to conceptualise the totality of the problem and make sure we’ve got a clear path to the next phase, but we’re potentially in the early stages of it.”
And referring to the last “tanker war” in 1987 when the US intervened to protect tankers from Iranian attacks, the source said, “To give you an example, the last time it happened in 1987, it took 30 warships to get them into the Strait of Hormuz. That gives you an example of the resources required. So it’s a major undertaking, depending on whether it’s in a conflict scenario or indeed during times of peace…”
US B-1 bomber loading at RAF Fairford, UK (Image: PA)
The British military is currently preparing and planning future operations to police or help secure the area against the threat from Iranian missiles and drones. But, he confirmed, the decision would depend on whether the situation would be mitigated by a high-threat environment or whether the UK would be less likely to be drawn into a new war.
One official said, “It’s an incredibly volatile situation currently; the threat level is such that I don’t think many nations would be prepared to put warships in the middle of that threat right now. So we’re working with allies to see what we can do when the time is right.
Reuters reported that Iran and Qatar share South Pars, the world’s largest natural gas reserve. According to Iran’s Fars news agency, the Israeli strike hit gas tanks and parts of a refinery south of Pars. Gas field workers were evacuated and emergency crews were deployed to extinguish the fire, reports said.
