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Britain will do as much as it can to help allies in the Middle East "resist the indiscriminate retaliation” from Iran, the UK’s Defence Minister has told The National.
Armed forces chiefs had been proactive in meeting ambassadors and defence attaches from Gulf states, many of whom have regularly attended meetings at the Ministry of Defence in London, and were ready to engage further, said Vernon Coaker, the Ministry Of Defence’s Minister of State.
While the ministry could not provide everything, “We've done as much as we can, as quickly as we can," he said.
Britain would not shy away from meeting friends and allies asking "Could you do more?" he said. Mr Coaker encouraged Gulf states to continue the discussions, which had been productive.
The Labour government has faced criticism during the first weeks of the war in Iran, notably from US President Trump, for not taking an aggressive role in attacking Iran and being slow to send warships to areas under fire, such as Cyprus.
Instead, it has offered defensive assistance, weaponry and intelligence to the Gulf.
Fruitful talks
The UK has already stepped up its production of Martlet missile interceptors which the MoD said had proved “highly capable” for air defence against Iran's attacks, understood to be at the request of Gulf countries.
The MoD has also deployed Rapid Sentry, an air defence system, to Kuwait and Martlets along with training how to use them to Bahrain.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday that Britain has "deployed short-range air defence systems to Bahrain at speed” to meet threats from Iranian barrages, a decision that was likely to have been the result of MoD meetings.
Defence diplomacy strategy
Mr Coaker was speaking at the Royal United Services Institute think tank launch of the government’s latest defence diplomacy strategy, with the UK intent on maximising the soft power that it can wield in the 172 nations where it has a defence attaché to promote Britain as “a reliable, steadfast ally”.
A new “defence diplomacy cadre” for civilian professionals will also be created and defence attaches, who are usually mid-ranking officers, will be given extra foreign language training “to help them better engage with partners in their own language,” said Mr Coaker.
There will also be a new unit in London to support the 102 foreign defence sections accredited in Britain and to improve co-ordination among the international defence community.
Mr Coaker also argued that while Nato, now with 32 countries in the alliance, had great influence “we've not always harnessed the full potential of that reach".
For Britain, it was also an opportunity to have both the stick and carrot. “In this new era of hard power, soft power takes on an enhanced importance,” he said.
