• Britain, France, Italy lead push with deployment of warships, air defences
• Spain breaks ranks, drawing Trump’s ire after denying base access
• Canadian leader refuses to rule out military role, vows to ‘stand by our allies’

ROME: Wary of being dragged into a direct war between the US-Israel and Iran, major European nations are nonetheless being drawn deeper into the widening Middle East conflict as they pledged military hardware and granted the US conditional use of their military bases.

The increasing military commitments are a response to the relentless pressure by US President Donald Trump, amid intensifying conflict in the Middle East triggered by a significant US-Israeli attack on Iran that resulted in the death of its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

While underlining their “defensive” aims, several European countries have now deployed naval and air assets to the eastern Mediterranean.

Britain announced it was sending the warship HMS Dragon. The vessel is fitted with a Sea Viper missile system capable of launching eight missiles in under 10 seconds. It is also deploying Wildcat helicopters equipped with Martlet missiles designed to take down drones.

Britain is also sending additional fighter jets to Qatar amid the widening war in the Middle East, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Thursday as his defence minister visited Cyprus.

The four Typhoon planes will join an existing UK squadron in the Gulf state “to strengthen our defensive operations in Qatar and across the region”, Starmer told reporters.

After initially refusing to have any role in the war, which incurred the wrath of US President Donald Trump, Starmer later agreed to a US request to use two British military bases for a “specific and limited defensive purpose”.

France is also sending its flagship aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, to the eastern Mediterranean with 20 Rafale fighter jets and two Hawkeye radar aircraft on board. President Emmanuel Macron also said Paris will dispatch “Rafale jets, air-defence systems and airborne radar aircraft” to Cyprus. France, which has already deployed its Languedoc frigate off Cyprus, has allowed US military support jets to use its Istres air base with “full guarantees” they were not involved in strikes on Iran.

In southeastern Europe, Greece has sent two frigates and four F-16 fighter jets to Cyprus and has permitted the US to use its base in Souda Bay in Crete. Italy has pledged to send “naval assets” to Cyprus and “air-defence, anti-drone and anti-missile systems” to partners in the Gulf, which Italian media reported could include the SAMP/T air defence system. The Portuguese government has given the US the go-ahead to use its Lajes base in the Azores for operations targeting Iran, but only if they are “defensive or retaliatory in nature… and that they target exclusively military objectives”.

In contrast, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has ruled out US military use of Spain’s bases, prompting a threat from Trump to sever all trade ties. Madrid will, however, send its most advanced frigate, the Cristobal Colon, to protect Cyprus and “support any evacuation of civilians”.

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday that he couldn’t rule out his country’s military participation in the escalating war. Speaking in Canberra alongside his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, Carney stressed the question was “hypothetical”.

“One can never categorically rule out participation,” he said. “We will stand by our allies… we will always defend Canadians.”

His visit to Australia is part of a multi-country tour aimed at deepening ties with like-minded “middle powers”.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2026