Britain is deploying its ‌Rapid Sentry air defence system to Kuwait to help protect British and Kuwaiti interests in the Gulf, Prime ​Minister Keir Starmer’s office said on Friday, ​after an overnight Iranian drone attack on a ⁠Kuwaiti oil facility.

Starmer discussed the deployment in a ​call with Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah ​on Friday morning, a Downing Street spokesperson said.

“The Prime Minister began by condemning the reckless overnight drone attack on ​a Kuwaiti oil refinery,” the spokesperson said. “He reiterated ​that the UK stands with Kuwait and all our allies ‌in ⁠the Gulf.”

The spokesperson said the leaders discussed the deployment of the UK’s air defence system - designed primarily to shoot down drones and other low-flying ​aerial threats - ​to Kuwait, ⁠which would protect Kuwaiti and British personnel and interests in the region, while ​avoiding escalation into a wider conflict.

Starmer ​and ⁠the crown prince also discussed disruption to global shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and welcomed a meeting chaired ⁠by ​British Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper ​on Thursday to draw up a plan to reopen the ​vital shipping route.