British defence minister suggests Putin’s ‘hidden hand’ behind Iran tactics

Follow our live coverage here.

LONDON – Britain’s Defence Minister John Healey suggested on March 12 that Russia was influencing Iran’s use of drone attacks in its war with the United States and Israel.

Mr Healey said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “hidden hand” may be behind some of the tactics deployed by Tehran in the Middle East conflict, which started when the US and Israel struck Iran on Feb 28.

He told reporters that officials were analysing an Iranian-made drone that hit Britain’s Akrotiri air force base in Cyprus on March 1 “for any evidence of Russian or any other foreign components and parts”.

“We will update you and appropriately publish any findings from that when we’ve got them,” he said during a visit to Britain’s military headquarters in Northwood, near London.

“But I think no one will be surprised to believe that Putin’s hidden hand is behind some of the Iranian tactics, potentially some of their capabilities as well, not least because one world leader that is benefiting from the sky-high oil prices at the moment is Putin,” he added.

Russia is a close ally of Iran, with the two agreeing last year to help each other counter “common threats”.

US President Donald Trump said on March 7 he had no indication Russia was supporting Iran in the war, but that if they were, it was not “helping much”.

Lieutenant-General Nick Perry, the British military’s chief of joint operations, told Mr Healey there were “definitively” signs of a link between Russia and Iran, including Iran’s use of drones “as learnt from the Russians”.

No one was injured when the drone hit a hangar at Akrotiri. British warplanes shot down a further two drones heading for the base the same day.

A brigadier in the British army Guy Foden briefed Mr Healey that UK troops based at a military base housing international coalition troops in Erbil, Iraq, had helped shoot down two Iranian drones on March 11. AFP