00:00Is UK quietly preparing for war with Iran?
00:20British fighter jets have just been sent to the Gulf, joining a growing US military build-up as fears of a wider conflict continue to rise.
00:29In a major move that's raising eyebrows worldwide, the United Kingdom has deployed Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets to Qatar, reinforcing defenses in one of the most volatile regions on the planet.
00:43The UK government says the deployment is defensive, but the timing tells a bigger story.
00:49The Typhoon jets have been sent to Al-Udid Air Base, near Doha, forming No. 12 Squadron, a joint RAF-Qatari unit.
00:58The deployment was made at the invitation of Qatar and is meant to strengthen air defense across the Gulf.
01:05UK Defense Secretary John Healy said the move boosts security for both nations and supports stability in the region.
01:13But this isn't just a symbolic gesture.
01:16The Typhoon is a highly advanced multi-role fighter jet, capable of intercepting aircraft, shooting down missiles and destroying drones.
01:25Defense sources say the jets are particularly effective against Iranian Shahed drones, which Iran has used across the region and supplied to Russia in Ukraine.
01:36In other words, these jets are there for real-world threats.
01:40At the same time, the United States is dramatically increasing its presence.
01:45The USS Abraham Lincoln Aircraft Carrier Strike Group, equipped with F-35 fighter jets, is expected to arrive in the Gulf soon.
01:54It's accompanied by guided missile destroyers, submarines and advanced air defense systems like Patriot and THAAD batteries.
02:02A second U.S. carrier is also reportedly on its way.
02:06President Trump described the fleet as an armada, saying it was sent toward Iran just in case.
02:14You know, we have a lot of ships going that direction just in case.
02:19We have a big flotilla going in that direction.
02:23And we'll see what happens.
02:25We have a big force.
02:27We have a big force going toward Iran.
02:30I'd rather not see anything happen, but we're watching them very closely.
02:34I saw 837 hangings on Thursday.
02:40They would have been dead.
02:42Every one of them would have been hung.
02:44This is like from a thousand years ago.
02:46This is an ancient culture.
02:48Very smart people, by the way.
02:50But it's an ancient culture.
02:52837 mostly young men were going to be hung on Thursday.
02:59And I said, if you hang those people, you're going to be hit harder than you've ever been hit.
03:05It'll make what we did to your Iran nuclear look like peanuts.
03:09And an hour before this horrible thing was going to take place, they canceled it.
03:16And they actually said they canceled it.
03:18They didn't postpone it.
03:19They canceled it.
03:20So that was a good sign.
03:22But we have an armada.
03:24We have a massive fleet heading in that direction.
03:28And maybe we won't have to use it.
03:31We'll see.
03:34Defense analysts say the scale of the buildup goes beyond routine deterrence,
03:38and is consistent with preparations for a potential U.S. strike on Iran.
03:43British officials have emphasized that the RAF presence adds an extra defensive layer,
03:48especially in case Iran retaliates against U.S. or allied bases.
03:53And that fear isn't hypothetical.
03:55Al-Udid Air Base hosts U.S. Central Command,
03:59making it one of the most important and most vulnerable military sites in the region.
04:04Iran has targeted the base before, launching missiles toward it after earlier U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
04:11That history is a major reason allied forces are reinforcing the area now.
04:17This isn't the U.K.'s first move like this.
04:20Britain reinforced the region ahead of previous Iran-Israel clashes and sent typhoons to Qatar during past crises,
04:28including the 12-day Iran-Israel conflict and earlier regional escalations.
04:33But combined with the current U.S. buildup, this deployment carries more weight.
04:38So are these forces here to prevent war or to prepare for it?
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