Keir Starmer reiterates need to ‘de-escalate' Israel-Iran conflict
Sir Keir Starmer has reiterated the need to 'de-escalate' the conflict between Israel and Iran as the diplomatic push to calm tensions continues.
The Prime Minister spoke to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, on Saturday afternoon, and Foreign Secretary David Lammy was expected to spend the day in talks with counterparts across the Middle East and elsewhere.
It comes after Iran launched retaliatory attacks against Israel overnight.
A Downing Street spokesperson said Sir Keir and the Crown Prince spoke on Saturday afternoon.
According to a read-out of the conversation issued by Number 10, 'they discussed the gravely concerning situation in the Middle East and agreed on the need to de-escalate'.
'The Prime Minister updated on his conversations with partners so far, and reiterated that the UK is poised to work closely with its allies in the coming days to support a diplomatic resolution.'
The Foreign Secretary was due to be briefed by officials on Saturday on the developments overnight, and was expected to speak to figures in the Middle East and elsewhere through the day.
It comes after Mr Lammy had conversations with representatives from Iran, Jordan and Saudi Arabia as well as European foreign ministers on Friday.
Iranian state media said Tehran has warned the US, the UK and France not to help Israel stop Iran's strikes, according to reports on Saturday.
Iran launched missile and drone strikes on Israel overnight after a series of Israeli attacks on the heart of Tehran's nuclear programme and armed forces.
Tehran's UN ambassador said 78 people had been killed and more than 320 wounded in Israel's attacks, while Tehran's response was said to have killed at least three and wounded dozens.
Speaking to broadcasters on Friday evening, Mr Lammy said: 'I spoke to my Iranian counterpart today to urge restraint at this time and calm. I recognise that this is a moment of grave peril in the Middle East.'
Sir Keir and US President Donald Trump called for 'diplomacy and dialogue' in a call on Friday, amid a diplomatic flurry from western nations to try to calm the conflict.
Sir Keir had earlier urged his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to de-escalate and work towards a 'diplomatic resolution'.
A Cobra meeting of high-level ministers was convened on Friday afternoon to discuss the situation. The same is not expected on Saturday but Whitehall officials were expected to be meeting.
The conflict was ignited by early morning Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear bases on Friday.
Israel said the barrage was necessary before Iran got any closer to building a nuclear weapon, although experts and the US government have assessed that Tehran was not actively working on such a weapon.
Iran retaliated with waves of drones and ballistic missiles, with explosions lighting up the skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Sir Keir is set for discussions with other world leaders at the G7 summit in Canada next week.
Tensions between Israel, the US and Iran have escalated in recent weeks, amid negotiations over the Iranian nuclear deal, which is aimed at preventing the country from developing nuclear weapons.
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