Rishi Sunak urges Israel to show restraint after Iranian attack

Rishi Sunak has echoed calls by fellow world leaders for Israel to show restraint in its response to the weekend’s attack by Iran, as the international community seeks to prevent a full-scale regional conflict.

Updating the House of Commons for the first time since the weekend’s largely unsuccessful attack involving more than 300 drones and missiles, the prime minister told MPs he was urgently working with allies to try to prevent any escalation.

Sunak refused to criticise the Israelis for that original action, laying the blame solely at the door of Tehran instead.

Sunak would not give full details of the British military engagement but said the planes had provided “important intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance support for our partners”.

Keir Starmer backed Sunak’s calls for restraint, although he was more critical of the original Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate.

The foreign secretary told the BBC on Monday morning: “We are saying Israel has a right to respond but we do not support a retaliatory strike.