Keir Starmer pleaded for calm today after Israeli strikes on Iran sparked fears over all-out war.
The PM has urged both sides to ‘step back’ after Israel launched raids, insisting its regional rival cannot be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.
Operation Rising Lion, involving more than 200 Israeli jets, targeted a facility in Natanz and the capital Tehran.
There are claims Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Hossein Salami was killed in the strikes.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned Israel should expect ‘severe punishment’ in response.
The US has distanced itself from the strikes and warned Iran not to attack US bases in the region in retaliation. Oil prices have surged on concerns about fresh turmoil.
The US was reportedly warned in advance that the attacks were coming, although the UK is not thought to have been given any notice.
Israel launched attacks on Tehran early Friday with over 200 warplanes deployed
Sir Keir said: ‘The reports of these strikes are concerning and we urge all parties to step back and reduce tensions urgently. Escalation serves no-one in the region.
‘Stability in the Middle East must be the priority and we are engaging partners to de-escalate. Now is the time for restraint, calm and a return to diplomacy.’
The strikes appear to be the most significant Iran has faced since its war with Iraq in the 1980s.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who has postponed a trip to the US today, said stability in the Middle East was ‘vital’ for global security.
‘Further escalation is a serious threat to peace & stability in the region and in no-one’s interest,’ he said in a post on X.
‘This is a dangerous moment & I urge all parties to show restraint.’
UK officials are continuing to monitor the situation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this morning that the ‘operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat’.
In a clip posted on social media, Mr Netanyahu said that Israel ‘struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme’ and ‘the heart of Iran’s nuclear weaponisation programme’.
Iranian state television reported that the leader of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard Hossein Salami was killed as well as chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, General Mohammad Bagheri.
Industry minister Sarah Jones told Sky News the UK Government is ‘doing everything we can to urge restraint and to try and de-escalate the situation’.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Israel acted unilaterally.
In a post on X, Mr Rubio said ‘we are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region’.
