Sir Keir Starmer is preparing to deploy the warship HMS Dragon to the Middle East in a major escalation of the UK’s involvement in the intensifying US-Iran conflict.
The dramatic move comes after one of the UK’s military bases in Cyprus was attacked by an Iranian drone on Sunday night and follows similar manoeuvres to protect the Mediterranean island by the Greek Navy on Monday.
In a statement, the prime minister said: “The UK is fully committed to the security of Cyprus and British military personnel based there.
“We’re continuing our defensive operations, and I've just spoken with the President of Cyprus to let him know that we are sending helicopters with counter-drone capabilities and HMS Dragon is to be deployed to the region. We will always act in the interest of the UK and our allies.”
It follows Donald Trump's warning to Iran that it is “too late” for talks as he presses ahead with more strikes on the theocratic state to prevent its attempts to develop a nuclear weapon.
The government has also announced plans for charter flights to evacuate British nationals caught in the Gulf states, with foreign secretary Yvette Cooper saying 130,000 have already registered with the Foreign Office (FCDO).
The deployment of the warship is the latest step in the UK being sucked into a conflict which began when the US and Israel launched a barrage of missile attacks on Iran on Saturday, taking out the country’s leadership, including Ayatollah Khamenei and key military assets.
Sir Keir has resisted calls for the UK to join the attacks and initially blocked the US from using RAF bases from which to launch strikes. But over the weekend, he was forced to put RAF planes in the sky to defend British assets and regional allies and later allowed the US to use British bases for defensive measures.
Now he is about to send one of the UK’s most advanced warships, with some questioning why it was not already in Cyprus. The last time the UK deployed a Royal Navy vessel to a conflict the UK was not directly involved in was in 2023, when the Commonwealth state Guyana was threatened by Venezuela.
The expected decision to send HMS Dragon comes after criticism of a lack of air defence in the region, as the Iranian regime has threatened to unleash the “gates of hell” on the US and Israel, following attacks first launched on Tehran on Saturday.
The US has also indicated that it plans to escalate the fighting further, threatening another wave of airstrikes on Iran, warning the “hardest hits” are yet to come.
But Sir Keir’s handling of the crisis is still coming under intense criticism from opposition parties and President Trump, who used a second interview to express his disappointment in the British prime minister overnight.
President Trump told The Sun that he was “very sad” to see that his relationship with Sir Keir is “obviously not what it was”.
Mr Trump added: “He has not been helpful. I never thought I’d see that. I never thought I’d see that from the UK. We love the UK.”
The prime minister has insisted that the Special Relationship between the UK and US remains strong and insisted to MPs on Monday: “I stand by my decision.”
The plan to send HMS Dragon was worked up because the ship is at the cutting edge of taking down drones.
The ship, which is based at the naval base in Portsmouth, had been in dry dock for a refit but had previously served in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea. Named in honour of the Welsh dragon its last major operation was in May 2025 to take part in NATO's Formidable Shield; the largest at-sea live-fire exercise in Europe.
The destroyer has a crew of 200 including sailors, technicians and weapons experts and is captained by Commander Iain Giffin. It carries two helicopters and has a range of guns , anti-ship and anti-air missiles as well as electronic warfare equipment.
Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge questioned why it had taken Sir Keir so long to decide to send a warship.
He said: "It begs the question: why wasn't she already there?"
Conservative MP Gavin Williamson, a former defence secretary, posted on X: “Why wasn’t this done in January? It was obvious that it would be required when this all started to escalate. This is very, very poor planning.”
But Ms Cooper said the government had already added to the air defences in Cyprus.
"We have already increased the deployment, with additional defensive capabilities, including radar, F-35 jets, air defence, and counter-drone systems," she said.
It comes after a drone struck RAF Akrotiri shortly after midnight on Monday, causing minor material damage to an aircraft hangar. Another two drones were intercepted by British warplanes around midday on Monday after they were scrambled from the air base.
Senior Cypriot officials say the attack was carried out by an Iranian Shahed drone, most likely fired by Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah from Lebanon.
France plans to send air defence systems to Cyprus and could dispatch a frigate, as well as anti-missile and anti-drone systems to the country, the semi-official Cyprus News Agency has reported.
Cypriot government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis spoke about the possibility of French support on Monday. French President Emmanuel Macron and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides had a phone call "in the context of strengthening the precautionary measures being taken", he said.
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