On the road to war: The United States and Britain strengthen their military presence in the Persian Gulf

The situation in the Middle East is escalating, and the parties are building up forces in the Persian Gulf in anticipation of an escalation. The US and British warships left their bases in Bahrain and moved into the waters of the Gulf, finding themselves less than 250 km from the southern borders of Iran. American and British forces have been put on high alert, and intelligence records Iran's preparations for missile strikes on US and its allies' military bases in the event of Washington's intervention in a military conflict on the side of Israel. According to experts, the region is on the verge of a direct clash between the world's largest powers, threatening not only the security of the Middle East, but also the stability of the global economy. Izvestia looked into what was happening in the region and what threats it posed.

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Activation of the US military

In recent days, almost all American and British warships, including destroyers with Aegis systems, air defense ships, minesweepers, support vessels and ships of the allies France and Australia, have left the base in Bahrain, which is the headquarters of the Fifth Fleet of the US Navy. There is already at least one coastal warship of the US Navy, two minesweepers, two frigates of the Bahraini Navy and about a dozen small vessels in the region. American bases in the UAE, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have been put on high alert, with more than 40,000 US troops stationed in the region.

On June 17, Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth announced that over the weekend he had ordered the deployment of additional forces in the area of responsibility of the US Central Command (CENTCOM, responsible for Central Asia and the Middle East) This decision was made to strengthen the defensive capabilities of American troops in the region amid the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump on his Truth Social network demanded the "unconditional surrender" of Iran. He stated that the United States fully controls the airspace over this country and emphasized the superiority of American air defense and intelligence systems. Trump also said that he knows the exact location of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling him an "easy target," but noted that he has no plans to eliminate him yet.

"We are not going to destroy it, at least for now," he wrote.

In addition, the US president held an emergency meeting of the National Security Council to discuss the situation in the Middle East and possible options for US actions.

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The American authorities express concerns that if the United States enters the conflict, Iran may start mining the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically important sea route through which a significant part of the world's oil passes. This could lead to a blockade of American ships and serious disruptions in global energy trade. In addition, Iranian-backed groups, including the Houthis, may resume attacks on ships in the Red Sea. In the event of a strike on the key Iranian nuclear facility at Fordo, a large-scale response from Iran and its allies is expected, including missile strikes on American bases and military installations in the region.

Iran's permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Ali Bahraini, said Tehran would give a "decisive", "immediate" and "proportionate" response.

British forces in the Middle East

On June 14, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also announced the deployment of additional forces, including military aircraft, to the Middle East region.

Starmer told reporters flying with him to Canada for the G7 talks that Britain was deploying troops in the region to provide emergency support. According to The Economic Times, with reference to the British Ministry of Defense, these are Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft. These are supposed to provide support to Israel in case of unforeseen circumstances.

On the same day, Starmer said that the Eurotroika, consisting of Britain, France and Germany, did not participate in Israel's military operation against Iran. Meanwhile, London, Berlin and Paris are seriously concerned about the situation in the Middle East and have long talked about concerns about the Iranian nuclear program.

"I just spoke on the phone with the President [of France Emmanuel] Macron and [German] Chancellor Friedrich] Merz. <...> We are all in favor of de-escalation, but none of us was involved in the actual attack," Starmer said.

According to the Mehr news agency, on June 14, the Iranian navy intercepted a British destroyer in the Gulf of Oman and forced it to change its route, preventing passage to the Persian Gulf.

According to the source, the ship of the Royal Navy of Great Britain could allegedly participate in aiming Israeli missiles at targets in Iran. The publication notes that the reconnaissance destroyer was stopped after receiving a stern warning from the Iranian side.

Against the background of the worsening situation in the region, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a decision to send additional military resources to the Middle East. In particular, we are talking about the transfer of aircraft to British bases in the region. He also did not rule out the possibility of London providing military support to Israel.

Britain evacuated families of diplomats from Iran

On June 15, it became known that shortly before the start of the Israeli attack on Iran, the United Kingdom had evacuated the families of its diplomats from the Islamic Republic. This was reported by The Telegraph newspaper, citing sources.

"Although the diplomats remain [in Iran], it is known that their family members left the country at the same time as the evacuation of some American officials shortly before the Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities," the newspaper reports.

It is specified that at the same time, the employees of the diplomatic department themselves continue to remain in the country. Historically, the British Embassy has played a key role as a communication channel between Tehran and Washington, especially given that the United States does not have an official diplomatic mission in Iran, the source emphasizes.

"It is assumed that government officials expected the diplomatic situation between Iran and Israel to worsen even before the strikes," the article says.

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Iran has threatened Britain, France and the United States.

On June 14, the Mehr news agency reported that Iran had warned Britain, France and the United States about possible attacks on their facilities in the Middle East if they supported Israel in repelling Iranian attacks.

"Iran has warned the United States, Britain and France that their bases in the region will become targets if they help stop Tehran's attacks on Israel," Reuters quoted the report as saying.

According to media reports, in addition to military facilities, Tehran has threatened attacks on ships of these countries.