LONDON: When the sun rose on Jan. 3, the world woke to unprecedented contemporary tensions between the US and Iran. 

As an American drone fired missiles at the convoy of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad at around 1 a.m., most of Washington鈥檚 allies were in the dark.

British sources said the government was not informed ahead of the strike, despite the heavy UK presence in the region and Iraq.

Washington鈥檚 failure to forewarn London amid heightened regional tensions has caused confusion and concern among commentators and politicians. 

鈥淚鈥檝e long believed that the purpose of having allies is that we can surprise our enemies and not each other,鈥� said Tom Tugendhat, a Conservative MP and chair of the foreign affairs committee in the previous UK Parliament.

The failure to share information has become 鈥渁 pattern,鈥� and it is 鈥渁 bit of a shame that the US administration of late has not shared with us, and that is a matter of concern,鈥� he added.

A source close to Downing Street told Arab News that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson 鈥� who is currently holidaying on the private Caribbean island of Mustique 鈥� was unaware that the strike was due to take place. 

As global leaders weighed in on the incident, Johnson remained silent until Jan. 5, when he was careful not to deliver a statement that was overly supportive of US President Donald Trump鈥檚 orders.

Johnson said Britain 鈥渨ill not lament鈥� the loss of Iran鈥檚 top general, but fell short of supporting the attack.

A surprisingly short statement from Britain鈥檚 Foreign Office did not contain a line of support for Trump鈥檚 decision to kill Soleimani. 

In a statement, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Britain had 鈥渁lways recognized the aggressive threat posed by the Iranian Quds force,鈥� but he called for de-escalation, adding: 鈥淔urther conflict is in none of our interests.鈥�

Lucy Fisher, defense editor at The Times, said Iran was 鈥渃onvinced of its status as a world superpower,鈥� and the chance of it launching attacks on British interests was 鈥渧ery possible given the UK is inextricably linked with the US in the eyes of Iran.鈥� 

A senior commander in the Quds Force 鈥� Iran鈥檚 international military force, responsible for supporting proxy militias 鈥� told The Times on Jan. 6: 鈥淥ur 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.鈥�

The commander added: 鈥淲e request (the) UK, the key US ally, and other Western allies 鈥� to not stand with this Trump regime.鈥�

His inflammatory comments come as Iraqi police confirmed that two rockets had injured six people in Baghdad鈥檚 Green Zone, where the US Embassy is based.

Iraq鈥檚 Parliament has backed a resolution supported by Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi to expel foreign forces 鈥� including British troops 鈥� from the country.

Raab responded by urging Baghdad to abandon the resolution. He told Iraq鈥檚 government that an ejection of NATO forces would allow Daesh to 鈥渆xploit the vacuum鈥� left behind.

Arab News understands that Britain鈥檚 Defense Ministry is preparing new plans to secure UK interests and personnel after the resolution. 

The 400 British armed forces personnel based in Iraq have shifted their mission from training local forces to fight Daesh, to defending NATO bases and high-value individuals. 

The Royal Navy now plans to resume its escort of merchant vessels through the Strait of Hormuz following the heightened tensions. 

HMS Montrose and HMS Defender, a frigate and a destroyer respectively, had ended their escorting duties in 2019, but will now return to their duties. 

But despite the widely perceived threat to British interests, and the predictable trouble this has brought to London, the US failed to consult or even brief
the UK ahead of the attack.

The diplomatic silence over an assassination that has huge ramifications for British security has led to some questioning the value of the 鈥渟pecial relationship鈥� between the two nations.

鈥淲e pride ourselves on the so-called 鈥榮pecial relationship,鈥� yet there鈥檚 often little evidence that the US has a special relationship with anyone other than itself,鈥� said Charlie Herbert, a former British Army major general.

Kyle Orton, an independent terrorism researcher, told Arab News: 鈥淏ritish interests are at risk, arguably more than American interests if Iran is looking for a calibrated response that doesn鈥檛 provoke worse from Washington.鈥�

But he added: 鈥淭he need for speed and secrecy makes it imperative to keep the circle of people aware small.鈥� 

According to reports from the Los Angeles Times, that circle was small but included Israel. Barak Ravid, a journalist with sources in Israel鈥檚 government, said on Jan. 4 that the 鈥淯S informed Israel about this operation in Iraq apparently a few days ago.鈥�

A well-informed Israeli army officer told the Los Angeles Times that the attack 鈥渄id not come as a surprise.鈥�

After decades of fighting alongside American troops, and with thousands of British military and governmental personnel deployed in the Middle East to work alongside US forces, many Britons will be wondering what more they must do to enjoy the kind of advance notice afforded to Israel.