Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he will be speaking to his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, as world leaders call on his government to show restraint following the hundreds of missiles launched by Iran.
Israel has said there will be a response to Iran’s drone and missile barrage over the weekend, as the UK and US urge the country to not strike back amid concerns of a wider conflict erupting in the Middle East.
Israel’s military chief Lt Gen Herzi Halevi said it is still considering its steps after Iran launched an attack with hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.
But he said the Iranian attack on Saturday “will be met with a response”.
The attack – which saw the US, UK, France and Jordan help Israel down the missiles and drones fired at the country – sparked significant concerns of an escalation in the conflict.
The United Nations nuclear watchdog chief has said he is worried Israel could target Iranian nuclear facilities.
International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Grossi said Iran closed its nuclear facilities on Sunday over “security considerations”.
They reopened on Monday but IAEA inspectors were kept away “until we see that the situation is completely calm”.
When asked about the possibility of an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, he said: “We are always concerned about this possibility.”
He urged “extreme restraint”.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said “all sides must show restraint” and revealed that he would be speaking with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shortly.
He faced further calls in parliament to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – Tehran’s primary fighting force.
Mr Sunak responded by saying the organisation had been sanctioned – not proscribed – as a whole.
Responding to former home secretary Suella Braverman, he repeated that “as the right honourable lady knows, we don’t comment on any potential proscription decisions”.
Foreign Secretary David Cameron had earlier told Sky News that Iran had shown its “malign” nature, but its attack had been “an almost total failure”.
Mr Cameron said the UK’s “hope is that there won’t be a retaliatory response” and he urged Israel to show restraint.
“This is a time to think with head as well as heart,” the former prime minister said. “To be smart as well as tough.”
Iran launched an attack almost two weeks after what it alleged was an Israeli strike on its Damascus consulate on 1 April that killed seven officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including two senior commanders.
Tehran said its strike was punishment for “Israeli crimes”. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the consulate attack.
Biden ‘committed to a ceasefire’
On Monday afternoon, it was reported Israel wants to embark on action against Iran co-ordinated with the US.
Following a meeting of Israel’s war cabinet, Channel 12 News claimed Israel’s objective is to hurt Iran without causing an all-out war.
If confirmed, the desire to conduct any joint-attack on Iran in response, along with the US, would appear at odds with comments attributed to Joe Biden.
Officials had said Mr Biden warned Mr Netanyahu the US would not take part in a counter-offensive against Iran.
Mr Biden only publicly addressed Iran’s attack on Monday, saying the US is “committed to Israel’s security”.
“We’re committed to a ceasefire that will bring the hostages home and prevent the conflict from spreading beyond what it already has,” the US president said, as he met Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al Sudani in the Oval Office.
Mr Biden said he was also committed to “the security of our personnel and partners in the region, including Iraq”.
During a White House press conference, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said reporting that Iran “meant to fail” in its attack and that it had given advanced warning of its strikes was “categorically false”.