Iran threatens to kill British soldiers as ex-Navy chief says UK is softer target than US for revenge attacks
IRAN has threatened to kill British soldiers in revenge attacks following the death of General Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike last week in Baghdad.
It comes as the UK's former head of the navy Lord West of Spithead warned Britain was a "softer target" than the US for an Iranian retaliatory attack.
Furious Iranians mourned Gen Soleimani, who was the second-most powerful man in Iran, yesterday.
Tehran said the numbers were the biggest since the death of Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989.
Gen Soleimani spearheaded Iranian military operations in the Middle East as head of the country's elite Quds Force.
A senior commander in the Quds Force told The Times British soldiers could be "collateral damage".
The commander, who was close to Soleimani, said: "Our forces will retaliate and target US troops in the Middle East without any concern about killing its allies, including UK troops, as this has turned into a fully fledged war with much collateral damage expected.
"We are very clear and have identified our targets and will fight with Americans.
"We request UK, the key US ally, and other western allies, including the NATO alliance, to not stand with this Trump regime, to avoid wider collateral damage in Iran's response as it conducts foreign military operations against US after Soleimani's assassination."
'SOFTER TARGET'
Meanwhile Lord West of Spithead, the UK's former head of the Navy, raised fears Brit citizens and interests would be potentially easier for Iran to attack.
He told the Daily Telegraph: "Iran will assume that Britain would be party to any all-out attack by the US and if they do, then we would be a softer target and more likely to be attacked than the Americans."
He said that any Iranian response would have to be calculated to avoid a full-blown war with the US and its allies.
Instead Iran will focus on revenge strikes, which could see government departments and Britain's national infrastructure targeted by Tehran-based hackers.
Iran's hackers are deemed by Britain's intelligence services to be in the "Champions League" of cyber-warfare.
Retired army officer Sir Sir Simon Vincent Mayall said Brit troops serving in the Middle East could "possibly"; be killed in retaliation attacks on US soldiers.
The lieutenant general told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the allies were "joined at the hip" in Iraq and that casualties could be shared if Iran strikes back.
The Ministry of Defence adviser said: "I don't think the British are any more vulnerable than the Americans in this case - we are joined at the hip in this.
"But the Iranians are quite right. Because we're so closely joined in this, any attack on American assets will inevitably, possibly lead to to British casualties as well."
BRINK OF WAR
Last night Boris Johnson said the UK will not lament the death of Gen Soleimani — but urged the world to step back from war.
The PM said the Iranian general was responsible for the slaughter of thousands of civilians and Western soldiers.
Mr Johnson's call for "de-escalation from all sides" came as Iran pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal that had limited its capacity to build a nuclear weapon.
Donald Trump has said the US is ready to strike 52 targets if Iran seeks revenge.
Mr Johnson arrived back from his Caribbean break yesterday and spoke to Mr Trump, France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Angela Merkel.
Mr Johnson said the UK was in "close contact" with all sides to encourage de-escalation.
Meanwhile Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the US had the "right to exercise self-defence" with its drone strike on Soleimani’s convoy near Baghdad airport.
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Mr Trump warned he would use US firepower to strike back against Iran "very fast and very hard".
He tweeted: "The US just spent two trillion dollars on military equipment. We are the biggest and by far the best in the world.
"If Iran attacks an American Base, or any American, we will be sending some of that brand new beautiful equipment their way... and without hesitation!"
