FEARS of an attack on Iran have been fuelled by sinister statements from Jeremy Hunt and reports of Western troops being sent to the region.

In a barely veiled threat, the Foreign Secretary told Tehran: “Do not underestimate the resolve on the US side.”

President Donald Trump’s hawkish National Security Adviser John Bolton has been beating the drum for an attack on Iran in recent weeks.

His British lapdog Mr Hunt gushed that US officials “don't want a war with Iran. But if American interests are attacked, they will retaliate.”

He told reporters in Geneva on Monday that this was something “the Iranians need to think about very, very carefully.”

His comments came shortly after the Sunday Express newspaper claimed that British special forces have been rushed to the region.

The paper reported that the deployment followed a spate of alleged Iranian attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

Around a fifth of the world’s oil supply is carried through this narrow strip of water, which would be a flashpoint if war breaks out.

The Royal Navy already has a significant presence in the Gulf, with four minesweepers permanently stationed in Bahrain, near the strait.

A troop transport aircraft from RAF Brize Norton landed in Bahrain on Monday, although it could have been carrying a routine change of crew for the minesweepers.

The Stop the War Coalition has said it is “increasingly alarmed at Donald Trump’s escalation of conflict with Iran.”

The campaign group warned: “He is being encouraged by his National Security Adviser John Bolton, an architect of the Iraq war and a man committed to military solutions.”