PM calls for calm amid Iran ‘chaos’
‘All sides must show restraint’, Sunak says after missile attack
PRIME Minister Rishi Sunak will urge Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to show restraint in response to Iran’s missile and drone barrage amid concerns the Middle East crisis could spiral out of control.
RAF jets were redeployed from Romania to join allies on Sunday in defending Israel, with the Typhoons shooting down a number of Iranian kamikaze drones.
Mr Netanyahu is considering how to respond to Tehran, with the US and UK urging calm.
In a Commons statement, Mr Sunak, inset, said he would be speaking “shortly” to Mr Netanyahu “to express our solidarity with Israel in the face of this attack and to discuss how we can prevent further escalation”.
“All sides must show restraint,” the Prime Minister said.
Iran launched about 350 drones and missiles at Israel on Saturday, but the majority were intercepted before they could reach their targets.
The attack followed Israel’s strike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria, killing two Iranian generals.
Iran has been blamed for supporting Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon which have targeted Israel, along with the Houthi group in Yemen which has mounted attacks on Red Sea shipping.
Mr Sunak told the Commons: “With this attack Iran has once again shown its true colours. They are intent on sowing chaos in their own back yard, on further destabilising the Middle East.
“Our aim is to support stability and security because it is right for the region and because although the Middle East is thousands of miles away, it has a direct effect on our security and prosperity at home.
"So, we’re working urgently with our allies to de-escalate the situation and prevent further bloodshed.
"We want to see calmer heads prevail and we’re directing all our diplomatic efforts to that end.”
The Prime Minister indicated that a diplomatic response from the UK and allies in the G7 group of leading democracies would be decided “in the coming days”.
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron urged Israel to be “smart as well as tough” by not escalating the conflict with Iran. Israel should recognise Tehran’s attack at the weekend as an “almost total failure” and “think with head as well as heart” in its response, the Foreign Secretary said.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said “a full-scale conflict in the Middle East is in no-one’s interest” and Iran “must be wholly condemned by all”. He said: “If diplomacy takes centre stage, and it must, then we also need to be clear diplomatic premises should not be targeted and attacked.”
Senior Conservatives urged the Prime Minister to ban Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terror group.
Former Minister David Jones said IRGC officials “can be seen dining out in restaurants in West London quite regularly”.
Former Defence Minister Mark Francois urged a rethink of the decision to retire 30 of the UK’s 137 Typhoons, because of budget pressures, which he said would “now be akin to selling Spitfires before the Battle of Britain”.
Mr Sunak said he “was happy to look at the point” but the UK is increasing purchases of F-35 aircraft and collaborating with Japan and Italy on building the next generation of fighter aircraft.
Downing Street said there are “no current plans to publish legal advice” on the UK action, since British forces are operating within existing permissions and defined geographic area of the Operation Shader mission. The PM’s spokesman also rejected Iran’s assertion that it gave advance warning of its strike, saying: “We were not briefed directly by Iran on their attacks.”
IRAN has shown itself to be a malign force in the Middle East even before it launched the drone attacks on Israel.
Britain must and will stand with Israel in the face of the attacks by Iran but it also needs to use its influence to prevent the outbreak of a full scale war.
Lord David Cameron is right to call for Israel to be “smart as well as tough” amidst rising tensions in the Middle East.
The drone attack launched by Iran was thankfully a failure and there are many observers who feel it was an attempt by Tehran to be seen to be retaliating after an airstrike on the Iranian consulate building in Damascus, Syria.
Escalating tensions are likely to have consequences here in Britain as well. Ever since October 7, divisions have widened between communities.
This is highlighted by the fact that so many Conservative Muslims are reportedly shunning the Government’s Eid celebrations. With Lord Cameron urging invitees to attend a Downing Street Eid reception and “put aside political differences” amid reports some are planning to boycott the event in protest against the Government’s support of Israel.
That is why the Government should be playing a key role in trying to diffuse tensions in the Middle East.
The price of an all out war between Iran and Israel does not bear thinking about. It will reverberate across the globe and pour petrol on an already volatile situation.
Levers are still available to Western allies to punish Iran for its belligerent actions in the form of further sanctions.
Lord Cameron became Foreign Secretary at a difficult time. However, the former PM has shown that he can be an authoritative voice as Foreign Secretary and is proving a valuable asset on the world stage.