By The Sun

THE Prime Minister will fly to the Gulf today to pledge Britain’s support for our allies as tensions mount with Iran.

David Cameron will visit the United Arab Emirates to reassure leaders of the UK’s military and diplomatic help if war breaks out with Tehran’s regime.

Rulers in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are worried Britain will abandon nearby air bases once our troops pull out of Afghanistan in 2014.

Mr Cameron will also hold talks with the UAE on the joint development of drones and other aerospace weaponry.

In a three-day charm offensive, the PM will push for sales of Typhoon fighter jets across the Gulf in a bid to secure more than £6billion for British firms.

The UAE has expressed a “real and genuine” interest in buying 60 Typhoons — made by BAE Systems — to replace its current fleet of French Mirage jets. Oman is likely to snap up 12 in a £1.5billion deal within weeks.

Saudi Arabia, which the PM will visit tomorrow, is keen to purchase more on top of the 72 it has already bought.

Mr Cameron will be accompanied by Defence Secretary Philip Hammond as he visits a military airbase near Dubai today.

A No10 source said a Typhoon deal was “one element of a much more concerted effort to establish a long-term strategic defence partnership within the UAE”.

Mr Cameron and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi will also meet British firms keen to invest in the nation. They include Virgin Galactic, which is considering building a “space port” there, and Great Ormond Street Hospital, which could support the region’s first children’s hospital.

- IRAN has built the world’s first military drone that can take off vertically and without a runway, the country claimed yesterday.

 

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