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  "path": "/news/british-jets-cyrpus-iran-us-donald-trump",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-07T08:37:13.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Operation Shader targeting Islamic State remnants.",
    "Keir Starmer told to ramp up attacks on Reform rather than 'collaborative' rival as PM left on brink",
    "Education leaders issue major plea to Keir Starmer over 'authoritarian' social media ban",
    "Nigerian court orders Britain to pay £420m in reparations over colonial-era deaths",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nBritain has dispatched six F-35B stealth fighters from RAF Marham to its sovereign base at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, amid growing fears of conflict between the US and Iran.\n\nThe aircrafts departed on Friday to protect the installation and the surrounding British territories in the event of regional tensions escalating.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe newly arrived jets will operate alongside Typhoon fighters already present in Cyprus, which conduct ongoing sorties over Iraq and Syria as part of Operation Shader targeting Islamic State remnants.\n\nLast month, four Typhoons from the joint UK-Qatar No 12 Squadron were sent to Qatar following a request from Doha's government, which cited escalating regional instability.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nUnlike the Typhoons' offensive mission, the state-of-the-art F-35Bs have been assigned to a purely defensive role, per The Times.\n\nThe deployment comes as signs of a diplomatic breakthrough between Washington and Tehran appear to be emerging.\n\nAmerican and Iranian negotiators held their first direct discussions since last June's US-Israeli strikes devastated Tehran's nuclear infrastructure.\n\nMeeting in Muscat on Friday, both delegations committed to resuming talks early next week.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nSpeaking aboard Air Force One, President Donald Trump expressed optimism: \"We had very good talks on Iran, Iran looks like it wants to make a deal very badly.\"\n\nIranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi offered a similarly upbeat assessment, characterising the session as \"a good start\" conducted \"in a very positive atmosphere\".\n\nHe confirmed that \"our arguments were exchanged and the views of the other side were shared with us\" and that negotiations would continue, with the format for subsequent rounds to be determined later.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Keir Starmer told to ramp up attacks on Reform rather than 'collaborative' rival as PM left on brink\n  * Education leaders issue major plea to Keir Starmer over 'authoritarian' social media ban\n  * Nigerian court orders Britain to pay £420m in reparations over colonial-era deaths\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nDespite the diplomatic overtures, American military assets in the Gulf region have swelled to levels surpassing those observed before last June's Operation Midnight Hammer strikes.\n\nThe USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, equipped with F-35 stealth fighters and accompanied by destroyers armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles, has taken up position in the Arabian Sea.\n\nAdditional assets include approximately a dozen F-15 fighters, MQ-9 Reaper drones, A-10C ground attack aircraft, and Osprey supply planes operating from bases across Jordan and Oman.\n\nAt least three E-11A battlefield communications aircraft are now positioned at Al-Kharj Air Base in Saudi Arabia, compared with just one during the previous operation to target Iran’s nuclear weapons programme.\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nLast Tuesday, an Iranian drone that \"aggressively\" approached the USS Abraham Lincoln was shot down in a sign of the febrile nature of the region.\n\nOpen-source defence analyst Stefan Watkins has monitored the arrival of numerous early-warning and surveillance aircraft, noting that this pattern \"might suggest that strikes are coming sooner rather than later\", as reported in The Times.\n\nEven still, the prospect of renewed military action faces significant opposition from key regional partners.\n\nSaudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have refused to permit their airspace to be used for strikes and have cautioned against attacking a weakened and cornered Iran without any guarantee of success.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nAdministration officials have indicated that Trump himself remains doubtful about military intervention, with one senior official revealing that, unlike last June, President Trump no longer views Iran's nuclear activities as posing \"a legitimate, imminent threat\".\n\n\"It's really the Israelis who want a strike. The President is just not there,\" the insider told Axios.\n\nMeanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been lobbying Washington intensively for comprehensive strikes against Tehran's ballistic missile capabilities, dispatching military and intelligence officials to make the case.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards:The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Britain sends fighter jets to RAF bases in Cyprus amid fears of US attack on Iran"
}