{"id":55467,"date":"2024-04-15T18:32:10","date_gmt":"2024-04-15T17:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/?p=55467"},"modified":"2024-04-16T11:22:20","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T10:22:20","slug":"rafs-support-for-israel-stretches-concept-of-self-defence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/rafs-support-for-israel-stretches-concept-of-self-defence\/","title":{"rendered":"RAF&#8217;s support for Israel stretches concept of self-defence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Rishi Sunak\u2019s decision to deploy RAF warplanes to shoot down Iranian drones heading for Israel raises serious questions about international law and the spectre of Britain\u2019s involvement in a widening conflict in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The contents of Britain\u2019s military cooperation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/how-the-uk-military-supports-israels-combat-operations-against-palestinians\/\">agreement<\/a> with Israel signed in 2020, and a defence pact signed a year later, are secret but they are not believed to require Britain to protect Israel if it comes under attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A more recent \u201c2030 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/2030-roadmap-for-uk-israel-bilateral-relations\/2030-roadmap-for-uk-israel-bilateral-relations#defence-and-security\">roadmap<\/a> for UK-Israel bilateral relations\u201d vaguely commits London to \u201ctackle shared threats\u201d with Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sunak justified the RAF\u2019s deployment as \u201csaving lives not just in Israel but in neighbouring countries like Jordan as well\u201d.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His defence secretary, Grant Shapps, went further and<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/grantshapps\/status\/1779498402625053100?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet\"> described<\/a> Iran\u2019s combined drone and missile attack on Israel as posing \u201ca threat to civilian lives in the Middle East\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They delivered these sweeping justifications of British military activity seemingly unaware that this rationale would also oblige them to intercept Israel\u2019s air strikes into Gaza, which have killed many thousands of civilians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-shady-business\"><strong>Shady business<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Britain\u2019s contribution to the downing of Iranian drones appears to have been minimal, more a self-serving diplomatic effort than one of military necessity.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tellingly, Tehran gave advanced warning of its attacks, and said it was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/liveblog_entry\/iran-says-nevatim-mount-hermon-bases-were-targets-of-attack\/\">aimed<\/a> at military targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These were Nevatim air base (which houses the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stimson.org\/2024\/iran-limited-response-pleases-hardliners-and-used-channels-with-the-us\/\">F-35 jets<\/a> that bombed Iran\u2019s consulate) and Mount Hermon spy station in the illegally occupied Golan Heights.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Iran inflicted limited damage, with the IDF claiming to have shot down 99 per cent of the projectiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Significantly, Sunak suggested that the decision to order RAF Typhoons based in Cyprus to destroy \u201ca number\u201d of Iranian drones over Syria and Iraq was an extension of Operation Shader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s Britain\u2019s ongoing, but largely unseen, campaign of air strikes against the remnants of Islamic State group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a late-night <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenational.scot\/news\/24251942.raf-jets-use-iran-israel-attack-uk-government-issues-statement\/\">statement<\/a> on Saturday which raises more questions than it answers, the Ministry of Defence said: \u201cIn response to increased Iranian threats and the growing risk of escalation in the Middle East, the UK Government has been working with partners across the region to encourage de-escalation and prevent further attacks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It added: \u201cWe have moved several additional Royal Air Force jets and air refuelling tankers to the region. These will bolster Operation Shader\u2026In addition, these UK jets will intercept any airborne attacks within range of our existing missions, as required.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As<a href=\"https:\/\/dronewars.net\/tag\/operation-shader\/\"> Drone Wars<\/a> has long warned, there is a threat of \u201cperpetual war\u201d if the RAF adopts an ever expanding mission statement for Operation Shader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-not-our-quarrel\"><strong>\u2018Not our quarrel\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This comes amid a dangerously creeping definition of \u201cself defence\u201d. British ministers suggest it can now encompass any potential threat \u2013 direct or indirect \u2013 to UK interests, especially but not only in the Middle East.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thus, the Conservatives can justify military responses to Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, and its bizarre decision to deploy an aircraft carrier to the South China Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The development of modern weapons systems and surveillance technology could make such \u2018self-defence\u2019 sorties easier and easier, however distant the alleged threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By contrast, Iran says launching missiles and drones against Israel was in response to a more proximate threat: Israel\u2019s attack on its consulate in Damascus that killed seven senior Iranian figures, including two top generals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/declassifiedUK\/status\/1779789189657075791\">Asked<\/a> what the British government would have done if a hostile state flattened one of its consulates, UK foreign secretary Lord Cameron admitted: \u201cWe would take very strong action\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He added: \u201cCountries have a right to respond when they feel they\u2019ve suffered an aggression.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sir Richard Dalton, former UK ambassador to Iran,<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TimesRadio\/status\/1779470311756378359\"> <\/a>has said Israel\u2019s attack on the consulate in Damascus was \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TimesRadio\/status\/1779470311756378359\">unlawful<\/a>\u201d.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Going further, he said he would \u201crather\u201d British forces had not taken part in the operation against Iranian missiles. \u201cThis is not our quarrel\u201d, the retired diplomat insisted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Israel\u2019s bombing of the consulate was widely criticised, although Britain <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/speeches\/the-uk-is-deeply-concerned-about-the-potential-for-escalation-in-the-middle-east-and-calls-on-all-parties-to-reduce-tensions-uk-statement-at-the-un-s\">failed<\/a> to condemn it &#8211; a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stopwar.org.uk\/article\/stop-the-war-coalition-statement-stop-the-spread-of-war-in-the-middle-east\/\">step<\/a> that Iran says would have reduced its need to retaliate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-no-change-ahead\"><strong>No change ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The government\u2019s notion of Britain revisiting its historic role as \u201cworld policeman\u201d seems to be wholeheartedly shared by the Labour leader, Keir Starmer.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last week he<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/debate\/article-13299023\/KEIR-STARMER-commitment-UKs-nuclear-deterrent-Unshakeable-Absolute-Total.html?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=CampaignMonitor_Editorial&amp;utm_campaign=LNCH%20%2020240412%20%20Charles%20Stanley%20Event%20%20SM+CID_9f20b411c37c62d2eb8744784215e637\"> chose<\/a> the right-wing <em>Daily Mail<\/em> to declare what he called his \u201cUnshakeable\u2026 Absolute\u2026Total\u201d commitment to the Trident nuclear \u201cdeterrent\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s a weapon\u2019s system which is neither independent nor a deterrent.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It would not function without continuing US support and it will not deter a hostile state in any foreseeable conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hundreds of billions of pounds \u2013 the new Trident system is estimated to cost more than \u00a3200 billion \u2013 are being diverted from desperately-needed spending on Britain\u2019s civil society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It also takes money from other weapons systems, such as drones and countering cyber attacks, so much cheaper and more effective than an arsenal of nuclear warheads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Their possession by Britain, as Tony Blair himself wrote in his memoir, <em>A Journey<\/em>, amounts to more of a status symbol than a remotely usable British weapon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The National Audit Office and the Commons Public Accounts Committee, time and again (and most recently <a href=\"https:\/\/committees.parliament.uk\/committee\/127\/public-accounts-committee\/news\/200897\/new-select-committee-proposed-to-provide-scrutiny-of-highly-confidential-spending\/\">today<\/a>) point to the MoD\u2019s hopelessly optimistic estimates of the cost of both nuclear and conventional weapons projects, estimates sabotaged as much by mismanagement as by over-ambitious plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sunak told the House of Commons this afternoon it was \u201cnot a time for hyperbole\u201d, ignoring his own advice as he enthusiastically defended Britain\u2019s latest military intervention role in the most volatile region in the world.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Judging by his own recent rhetoric, not least by shamelessly championing a most horrendous waste of public money, Starmer will have the same approach to the military and foreign affairs should he win the next election.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rishi Sunak\u2019s decision to deploy RAF warplanes to shoot down Iranian drones heading for Israel raises serious questions about international law and the spectre of Britain\u2019s involvement in a widening conflict in the Middle East. The contents of Britain\u2019s military cooperation agreement with Israel signed in 2020, and a defence pact signed a year later, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":55469,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281,19,18,6,237],"tags":[],"coauthors":[218],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.6 (Yoast SEO v22.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>RAF&#039;s support for Israel stretches concept of self-defence<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Israel\u2019s bombing of Iran&#039;s consulate was a grave breach of diplomatic protocol. 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Should the RAF have shielded Netanyahu from Tehran\u2019s inevitable retaliation?","og_url":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/rafs-support-for-israel-stretches-concept-of-self-defence\/","og_site_name":"Declassified Media Ltd","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DeclassifiedUK","article_published_time":"2024-04-15T17:32:10+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-04-16T10:22:20+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2048,"height":1212,"url":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/dronesrnt.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"RICHARD NORTON-TAYLOR","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@declassifiedUK","twitter_site":"@declassifiedUK","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"RICHARD NORTON-TAYLOR","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/rafs-support-for-israel-stretches-concept-of-self-defence\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/rafs-support-for-israel-stretches-concept-of-self-defence\/"},"author":{"name":"RICHARD NORTON-TAYLOR","@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/50fd069fbe9707ec4effa2bdf7fedce2"},"headline":"RAF&#8217;s support for Israel stretches concept of self-defence","datePublished":"2024-04-15T17:32:10+00:00","dateModified":"2024-04-16T10:22:20+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/rafs-support-for-israel-stretches-concept-of-self-defence\/"},"wordCount":974,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/rafs-support-for-israel-stretches-concept-of-self-defence\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/01-header-Iran-consulate-syria.jpg","articleSection":["Archiver","Home Page","Middle East","Military","OPINION"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2024","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/rafs-support-for-israel-stretches-concept-of-self-defence\/","url":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/rafs-support-for-israel-stretches-concept-of-self-defence\/","name":"RAF's support for Israel stretches concept of self-defence","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/rafs-support-for-israel-stretches-concept-of-self-defence\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/rafs-support-for-israel-stretches-concept-of-self-defence\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/01-header-Iran-consulate-syria.jpg","datePublished":"2024-04-15T17:32:10+00:00","dateModified":"2024-04-16T10:22:20+00:00","description":"Israel\u2019s bombing of Iran's consulate was a grave breach of diplomatic protocol. Should the RAF have shielded Netanyahu from Tehran\u2019s inevitable retaliation?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/rafs-support-for-israel-stretches-concept-of-self-defence\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/rafs-support-for-israel-stretches-concept-of-self-defence\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/rafs-support-for-israel-stretches-concept-of-self-defence\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/01-header-Iran-consulate-syria.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/01-header-Iran-consulate-syria.jpg","width":2048,"height":1212,"caption":"The aftermath of Israel's air strike on Iran's consulate. 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