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UK raises threat level for British forces in Iraq and Gulf
Source: The Guardian
UK raises threat level for British forces in Iraq and Gulf
Move comes as UK seeks to repair breach with US after disagreement over Iranian threat
Dan Sabbagh and Patrick Wintour
Thu 16 May 2019 19.05 BST First published on Thu 16 May 2019 14.30 BST
Britain raised the threat level for its forces in Iraq and the Gulf on Thursday, as the UK repaired a breach with the United States which had erupted earlier this week after a British general had contradicted claims made by the Trump administration.
The heightened state of alert covers 400 forces personnel in Iraq, who provide training and support in the country, as well as soldiers and their families based in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar.
Jeremy Hunt, the UK foreign secretary, declared that he and his US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, now shared “the same assessment of the heightened threat posed by Iran. As always we work closely with the US.”
Earlier this month, the US had accused Iranian regime forces of being engaged in “provocation” in Iraq and Syria, and used that to justify the sending of an aircraft carrier and a bomber taskforce to the Middle East.
-snip-
Move comes as UK seeks to repair breach with US after disagreement over Iranian threat
Dan Sabbagh and Patrick Wintour
Thu 16 May 2019 19.05 BST First published on Thu 16 May 2019 14.30 BST
Britain raised the threat level for its forces in Iraq and the Gulf on Thursday, as the UK repaired a breach with the United States which had erupted earlier this week after a British general had contradicted claims made by the Trump administration.
The heightened state of alert covers 400 forces personnel in Iraq, who provide training and support in the country, as well as soldiers and their families based in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar.
Jeremy Hunt, the UK foreign secretary, declared that he and his US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, now shared “the same assessment of the heightened threat posed by Iran. As always we work closely with the US.”
Earlier this month, the US had accused Iranian regime forces of being engaged in “provocation” in Iraq and Syria, and used that to justify the sending of an aircraft carrier and a bomber taskforce to the Middle East.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/may/16/uk-raises-threat-level-for-british-forces-in-iraq
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