We stand with Israel, says Keir Starmer after Iranian assault

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has condemned Iran’s assault on Israel, saying he’s “deeply involved that the area is on the brink”.

“We stand with Israel and we recognise her proper to self-defence within the face of this aggression,” he mentioned in a televised handle from Downing Avenue.

The Israeli army mentioned round 180 missiles have been fired from Iran on Tuesday night, most of which have been intercepted.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps mentioned it launched the missiles in retaliation for current assaults that killed the leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas, in addition to a senior Iranian commander.

Calling on Iran to cease its assaults, Sir Keir mentioned: “Along with its proxies like Hezbollah, Iran has menaced the Center East for a lot too lengthy, chaos and destruction introduced not simply to Israel, however to the folks they stay amongst in Lebanon and past.

“Make no mistake, Britain stands full sq. in opposition to such violence. We assist Israel’s affordable demand for the safety of its folks.”

Sir Keir was on the cellphone to his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu when the Iranian assaults started.

The 2 males had been talking for round quarter-hour – concerning the prospect of missiles being fired by Tehran – when Netanyahu needed to abandon the decision as a result of he had been instructed the assaults have been underneath means.

Throughout their name, Sir Keir additionally underlined the significance of a ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza.

When requested if the UK was ready to be concerned militarily to assist Israel defend itself in opposition to Iran, Sir Keir hinted that it was.

He instructed reporters it was an “evolving state of affairs however what I’ll say is that we stand with Israel and her proper to self-defence and any related updates shall be supplied in the end”.

Sir Keir has beforehand praised the final Conservative authorities for its resolution to sanction UK army assist for Israel, when the nation got here underneath assault from Iranian drones and missiles.

In April, then-prime minister Rishi Sunak said British fighter jets shot down a number of drones fired at Israel from Iran.

In his assertion, the prime minister repeated his recommendation to British nationals to go away Lebanon, warning the state of affairs was changing into “more and more grave”.

He added: “If in case you have the means to go away, the time is now. Don’t wait.”

Britons in Lebanon have been suggested to register their presence with officers on the federal government’s web site and a UK-chartered aircraft is leaving Beirut on Wednesday.

But some told the BBC that they had obtained no affirmation or particulars about their reserving on the government-chartered flight, regardless of paying for a seat.

As of final week, there have been regarded as between 4,000 and 6,000 UK nationals, together with dependants, in Lebanon.