Britain is deploying extra fighter jets and other assets to the Middle East amid the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said.

Below, AFP takes a look at the UK's military presence in the region.

'Contingency support'

Starmer told reporters travelling with him on his plane to Canada for G7 talks on Saturday that Britain was "moving assets to the region, including jets... for contingency support".

The jets are Eurofighter Typhoon planes, according to Britain's defense ministry.

Additional refueling aircraft have also been deployed from UK bases, according to Downing Street.

Royal Air Force fighter planes are already in the region as part of Operation Shader, the codename given to Britain's contribution to the international campaign against the ISIS group.

RAF Typhoon jets aided Israel in April 2024 when they shot down an unspecified number of drones fired by Iran, as confirmed by the UK's then-prime minister, Rishi Sunak.

Starmer, Sunak's successor, refused to speculate whether the UK would become directly involved this time in the conflict between the arch foes, which entered their fourth day on Monday.

Iran threatened to target American, British and French bases if Western countries intervened to stop Iranian strikes on Israel.

Tehran also urged London, Paris and Berlin to pressure Israel to stop its deadly attacks on Iran.