Britons put on alert in the Middle East as Israel attacks Iran's nuclear and missile sites
Britons in the Middle East were put on alert on Friday as Israel launched major strikes on Iran's nuclear and missile facilities.
They were urged to follow the latest advice from the Foreign Office as Tehran sought to hit back with drone attacks.
The 'dangerous moment' situation was expected to flare up rapidly with fast-moving developments.
There were already reports of some 100 drones sent by Tehran being intercepted by Israel's air force over Saudi Arabia.
Amid fears of a widespread war in the Middle East, Sir Keir Starmer 'urged all parties to step back' after Israeli strikes targeting Iran's nuclear programme.
The Prime Minister stressed: 'Now is the time for restraint, calm and a return to diplomacy'.
He added: '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.'
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,…
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) June 13, 2025
'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 attack appeared to be the most significant Iran has faced since its war with Iraq in the 1980s.
Iran had launched about 100 drones towards Israeli territory in retaliation, which Israel is working to intercept, Israeli military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said.
Iranian media and witnesses reported explosions including at the country's main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, while Israel declared a state of emergency in anticipation of retaliatory missile and drone strikes.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Friday there was no increase in radiation levels at the Natanz nuclear site, citing information given to them by Iranian authorities.
Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards corps said its top commander, Hossein Salami, was killed and state media reported the unit's headquarters in Tehran had been hit. Several children had been killed in a strike on a residential area in the capital, it said.
'We are at a decisive moment in Israel's history,' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a recorded video message.
'Moments ago Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel's very survival. This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.'
Defrin said 200 Israeli fighter jets took part in the strikes, hitting more than 100 targets in Iran.
Israel could confirm that the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards and the commander of Iran's Emergency Command were all killed in the strikes across Iran, he told an online briefing.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement that Israel had 'unleashed its wicked and bloody' hand in a crime against Iran and that it would receive 'a bitter fate for itself'.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy stressed: 'This is a dangerous moment & I urge all parties to show restraint.'
Airlines cleared out of the airspace over Israel, Iran and Iraq and Jordan on Friday after the Israelis strikes, Flightradar24 data showed, with carriers scrambling to divert and cancel flights to keep passengers and crew safe.
Iran closed its airspace and Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport was closed until further notice.
German airline Lufthansa on Friday said it had suspended all flights to and from Tehran following widescale strikes by Israel against Iran.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
How do Israel and Iran tensions impact the U.S.?
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — Tensions continue to rise after an Israeli attack that targeted Iran's nuclear program. This comes before President Trump was scheduled to hold peace talks between the two countries. 2 NEWS spoke with local experts on what this all means for U.S. security. Five things to know about Israel's attack on Iran There are still a lot more questions than answers after this strike, as both sides continue to warn the other about continued attacks and retaliatory attacks, but one Cedarville University professor says any harm coming to U.S. soil is still relatively low. 'Tensions have really been rising between the two, especially in recent years,' said Dr. Glen Duerr, Cedarville University professor of international studies. Israel and Iran have been exchanging strikes over the past 24 hours, all centered around Iran's growth in nuclear weaponry. 'It must be at a point where Mossad, the roughly equivalent of Israel's CIA, said that Iran is a danger,' said Duerr. 'They're getting to a breakout point, where they need to act.' Duerr says a lot escalated following the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. 'Especially after October 7, 2023, when Israel's territory was attacked, and notably, as well, Iran for the first time directly attacked Israel via drone in April and then again in October of 2024,' said Duerr. Concerns have been raised as to if the U.S. could see an attack of this scale, or even a cybersecurity attack — especially towards prominent military locations like Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. But Dr. Duerr doesn't see that happening. 'It's certainly possible, but not likely. I think the target is Israel, although the Israeli and American defense industries are very, very closely coordinated, including in this area around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base,' said Duerr. 'Certainly Iran could target the United States in terms of a cyberattack, but it's the timing doesn't make an awful lot of sense.' Israel attacks Iran's capital with explosions booming across Tehran 2 NEWS reached out to WPAFB to see if they have increased security in response to the recent activity, but have not heard back. President Trump has attempted to hold peace talks between the two countries, but the outcomes of what could happen due to this conflict are endless. 'My sense is that we'll see this kind of lower level tension, some exchanges between the two continue with low intensity into the future until something that changes, whether it's Iran's nuclear weapons program being discontinued or, heaven forbid, something broader that happens in the Middle East as well,' said Duerr. Duerr tells 2 NEWS that the conflict will be continuing — especially if Israel feels that Iran's nuclear program could reach a critical breakout point. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
What threat does Israel-Iran conflict pose in Middle East?
Israel and Iran have attacked each other, raising concerns about the conflict spreading throughout the Middle East. Retired Brig. Gen. John Teichert joins 'The Hill' to break down the military presence in the region as U.S. personnel assist Israeli defense. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Tucker Carlson slams ‘warmongers' Sean Hannity, Rupert Murdoch amid Israel-Iran strikes
Political pundit Tucker Carlson doubled down on his criticism of Israel's strikes against Iran, rebuking several media figures, including his former colleagues at Fox News, over what he described as their push for President Trump to engage in the region. 'Who are the warmongers? They would include anyone who's calling Donald Trump today to demand air strikes and other direct US military involvement in a war with Iran,' Carlson wrote in a post on the social media platform X. 'On that list: Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Rupert Murdoch, Ike Perlmutter and Miriam Adelson. At some point they will all have to answer for this, but you should know their names now,' he continued. Hannity and Levin both work for Fox News, which is owned by Murdoch. Perlmutter is the former CEO of Marvel, and Adelson is a well-endowed GOP donor who co-hosted a January reception with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in honor of Trump's campaign win. Carlson said on Friday that the right is divided between those who encourage Trump to wage war and those who do not. 'The real divide isn't between people who support Israel and people who support Iran or the Palestinians. The real divide is between those who casually encourage violence, and those who seek to prevent it — between warmongers and peacemakers,' Carlson, who left Fox in 2022, outlined in the post. Levin, a radio host, has railed against Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, since early May when he accused the official of negotiating a nuclear deal with a 'warmonger Iranian terrorist regime.' Politco reported earlier this week that Levin ramped up his criticism of Iran alongside GOP insiders, including Perlmutter, who urged Trump to support Israel's attack during a private lunch at the White House. On Friday, Levin responded to Carlson, denying that he advised Trump to 'bomb' Iran. 'You're a reckless and deceitful propagandist, and that's the best I can say,' he wrote on X. 'You promote antisemitism and conspiracy nuts.' Iran lost three top military leaders, six nuclear scientists and dozens of senior commanders as a result of Israel's attack on their nation late Thursday. Iran responded with a round of ballistic missiles sent toward Israel after Trump said the U.S. would increase the pressure on Iran if a nuclear deal wasn't soon reached. 'There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end…,' Trump posted on Truth Social. 'I told them it would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told, that the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come — And they know how to use it,' he continued. In recent weeks, Carlson alongside Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, have warned of the threat of nuclear warfare. 'While the American military may not have physically perpetrated the assault, years of funding and sending weapons to Israel, which Donald Trump just bragged about on Truth Social, undeniably place the U.S. at the center of last night's event,' Carlson wrote earlier in the day. 'Washington knew these attacks would happen. They aided Israel in carrying them out. Politicians purporting to be America First can't now credibly turn around and say they had nothing to do with it. Our country is in deep.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
