Europe deploys military assets as Middle East war spreads

Dubai: European countries on Thursday accelerated the deployment of military assets to the Middle East as the conflict triggered by US-Israeli strikes on Iran widened across the region and beyond.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said four fighter jets were being sent to Qatar to strengthen defensive operations, while military helicopters equipped with counter-drone capabilities are expected to arrive in Cyprus on Friday.

Italy also announced it would provide air-defence support to Gulf countries that have been targeted by Iranian retaliatory strikes.

Reservations

European leaders, some of whom had expressed reservations about the initial US-Israeli assault on Iran, said the deployments were intended to protect their citizens, economic interests and key shipping routes rather than to participate in attacks on Iran.

The war has already killed hundreds of people — mainly in Iran — and drawn in countries across the Middle East as missile and drone attacks ripple through the region.

The US military said it was continuing operations to “find and destroy” Iran’s mobile missile launchers, which have been used in attacks on regional targets.

Iran has also carried out strikes against Kurdish opposition groups in neighbouring Iraq, targeting a base belonging to the Komala Party, according to a member of the group who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Iran has repeatedly targeted Kurdish factions it accuses of terrorism, while Iraqi officials say Kurdish forces are preparing units that could potentially enter Iran.

'Save your lives and evacuate your homes'

Meanwhile the conflict has opened new fronts in Lebanon.

Israel issued an unprecedented evacuation warning for the entire southern suburbs of Beirut — a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahiyeh — urging residents to leave immediately.

“Save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately,” an Israeli military spokesman said in a message to residents.

Such warnings typically precede major strikes, and traffic jams quickly formed as hundreds of thousands of residents attempted to flee the densely populated district.

Israel said earlier that its forces had struck several Hezbollah command centres in southern Beirut.

Lebanese authorities say at least 72 people have been killed, 437 wounded and about 83,000 displaced since the fighting began earlier this week.

The conflict is also reverberating far beyond the Middle East.

Azerbaijan warned that a drone strike on an airport in the Nakhchivan region on its border with Iran “will not go unanswered”, although Tehran denied responsibility and accused Israel of staging the attack.

Elsewhere, a US submarine torpedoed an Iranian warship near the coast of Sri Lanka, highlighting how the war is affecting maritime routes far from the main battlefield.

Australia has deployed two military aircraft to the region, while Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he could not rule out his country’s armed forces becoming involved as the crisis deepens.