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More United States bombers have landed in Britain after a week of strikes on Iran by the US and Israel.
A first 146ft B-1 Lancer arrived at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire on Friday evening and three more followed on Saturday morning.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has granted permission for “defensive” US action against Iranian missile sites from UK bases.
The huge plane, capable of carrying 24 cruise missiles, weighs 86 metric tons and is the fastest bomber in the US Air Force, according to Boeing, hitting speeds of over 1,450 km (901 miles) an hour.
‘The Bone’ has advanced radar and GPS systems to help hit targets, and electronic jammers, radar warnings and a decoy system to protect it from enemies.
The B-1 has been used in Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Armed forces chief Richard Knighton said he would expect the US to launch missions from the Gloucestershire base “within the next few days”.


Meanwhile, a second UK government charter flight carrying British citizens from Oman landed at London’s Gatwick Airport on Saturday as efforts to help people trapped in the war zone continue.
A third will be leaving Muscat, Oman, on Sunday, and the Foreign Office is also exploring options to charter a flight from Dubai to bring people back from the Middle East, the Press Association understands.
The latest arrivals join more than 9,000 Britons who have returned from the United Arab Emirates since widespread conflict began in the region.
On Saturday morning, Emirates announced it was suspending all flights to and from Dubai after blasts were reportedly heard in the city but said about half an hour later that flights would resume.

Donald Trump appeared to warn in a post on Truth Social that more Iranian officials would become targets in the war, adding: “Today Iran will be hit very hard!”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian earlier spoke on state TV to apologise to neighbouring nations over Tehran’s attacks and reject US demands for an unconditional surrender.
Questions linger over the UK’s future role in the conflict, with Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy suggesting RAF jets could legally strike Iranian missile sites being used to attack British interests in the Middle East.
Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Knighton signalled that the UK could join more proactive strikes in future, saying “campaigns and conflicts evolve over time”.
In a call with Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader Mohammed bin Salman on Friday, Starmer said the UK stands ready to help defend the country should it be needed.

It comes after Britain was criticised by allies over its response to the crisis, particularly over the defence of Cyprus, where a UK base was struck by a drone earlier this week.
Air defence destroyer HMS Dragon is not expected to sail to the eastern Mediterranean until next week, while France and Greece have already deployed military assets to defend the island.
One reason it is taking some time to prepare the Type 45 destroyer is because it is being equipped to remain at sea for several months if required, rather than rushed into the eastern Mediterranean for a short period.
Opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch renewed her attack on the UK’s response to the war in a speech on Saturday, saying the prime minister is “too scared to make foreign interventions” and that the UK is “in this war whether Keir Starmer likes it or not”.
Starmer has defended his decision not to permit the US to use British bases in the opening assault against the Tehran regime, suggesting it could have been unlawful and arguing the UK government must keep a “cool head”.
The prime minister agreed on Sunday to allow the US to strike Iran defensively from Fairford and Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean.
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth has warned that strikes were “about to surge dramatically”, referring to “more fighter squadrons, more defensive capabilities and more bomber pulses more frequently”.


Israel hits Iran oil facility, as PM Netanyahu warns of ‘many surprises’

Iran vows more attacks in Gulf despite president’s apology

Iran war: what we know about Ali Khamenei’s killing one week on

Will the US attack on Iran push North Korea even closer to Russia and China?

US-Israel war on Iran

4 US bombers land in UK as Iran war continues

A US Air Force bomber comes in to land at RAF Fairford in south west England on Saturday. Photo: AFP

Protesters demonstrate at RAF Fairford in Britain on Saturday, opposing any use of the base by US bombers. Photo: via dpa

A fighter jet takes off from Britain’s RAF Akrotiri airbase near Limassol in Cyprus on Friday. Photo: AP

Trump tells Starmer ‘do not give away Diego Garcia’ in fresh attack on Chagos Islands deal

Diego Garcia has long been a strategic asset for US missions. Photo: AFP

Iran apologises for strikes on neighbours, Trump calls nation ‘loser of Middle East’

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. File photo: dpa

Smoke rises following an explosion, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran. Photo: via Reuters

People in Tehran attend the Saturday funeral of two-year-old Zainab Sahebi, killed in a strike amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran. Photo: via Reuters

Family members embrace relatives evacuated from Dubai upon their arrival at Sarajevo International Airport in Bosnia on Friday. Photo: AP

Shiite Muslims shout slogans and burn effigies of US President Donald Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to protest the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Friday. Photo: AP

A closed fuel station in Karachi, Pakistan, on Saturday. Crude prices have surged on mounting fears about oil supply disruption during the Middle East war. Photo: AFP

A man inspects the debris of destroyed buildings on Saturday at the site of an Israeli air strike in Beirut. Photo: AFP

Trump’s ‘feeling’-driven Iran war cops criticism for ‘arrogant’ messaging

Smoke rises after an Iranian drone was intercepted over the Bahrain Financial Harbour towers in Manama on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

Smoke and fire rise from the site of air strikes at Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, Iran, on Sunday. Photo: AFP


Australia needs to make its stance on the Iran attacks known

Members of the Iranian diaspora in Australia celebrate US and Israeli military strikes on Iran outside Iranian embassy in Canberra on March 1. Photo: EPA

Protesters rally outside the White House against US strikes on Iran on February 28. Photo: TNS

A US Navy EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft launches off the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln during Operation Epic Fury on Tuesday. Photo: US Navy/dpa

Sri Lanka takes control of Iranian ship, brings crew to shore

A Sri Lanka Navy vessel approaches an Iranian ship during a rescue operation off Sri Lanka’s coast on Friday. Photo: Handout via Reuters

Sri Lanka Navy personnel assist Iranian sailors after responding to a distress call from the IRIS Dena, which later sank, with dozens dead, on Wednesday. Photo: Handout via Reuters

Plumes of smoke rise in Tehran on Thursday during the US–Israeli military campaign. Photo: AP

A man in Colombo watches Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake address the media on Thursday in relation to the Iranian ship, IRIS Bushehr. Photo: AFP

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British PM Keir Starmer has granted permission for ‘defensive’ US action against Iranian missile sites from UK bases


British PM Keir Starmer has granted permission for ‘defensive’ US action against Iranian missile sites from UK bases.


4 US bombers land in UK as Iran war continues

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}British PM Keir Starmer has granted permission for ‘defensive’ US action against Iranian missile sites from UK bases

British PM Keir Starmer has granted permission for ‘defensive’ US action against Iranian missile sites from UK bases