The British government has said it "stands ready 24/7 to defend itself" after Iran said UK bases used by the US were considered "legitimate targets". The UK has allowed the US to launch "defensive" operations from British bases hosting American personnel and aircraft, while refusing to cooperate in offensive operations against Iran. Advertisement AdvertisementIt comes as the US carried out a 13th consecutive night of strikes against targets in Iran. The UK Ministry of Defence has not commented on whether the base was used by the US for operations against Iran this week. There were doubts then over whether Iran had missiles which were capable of reaching the archipelago, which is about 2,360 miles (3,600km) from Iran.