Iran strikes US military base in Qatar as Britons evacuated from Israel

Iran launched a missile attack on a US military base in Qatar in retaliation for the American bombing of its nuclear sites, as scores of British nationals were evacuated from the Middle East.

With tensions escalating in the region as Tel Aviv and Tehran continue to exchange fire, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the RAF had evacuated 63 Britons from Israel.

Mr Lammy told MPs an RAF A400 had taken the group to Cyprus on Monday, from where they will be taken to the UK, adding that more flights will follow. He also confirmed that one British national in Israel had been injured during Iranian missile attacks.

British nationals leave Israel on board an RAF plane - one of the first emergency evacuations since the US attacked nuclear sites in Iran | SWNS

Tehran said the attack on Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base matched the number of bombs dropped by the US on Iran’s nuclear sites over the weekend, signalling its likely desire to de-escalate. Iran also said it targeted the base because it was outside populated areas.

The attack was announced on Iranian state television as martial music played. A caption on screen called it “a mighty and successful response” to “America’s aggression”.

The Ain al-Assad base housing US troops in western Iraq was also targeted, an Iraqi security source said, but Iran did not claim that attack, which could have been carried out by militias.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said the attack by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards was “a flagrant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty, its air space and international law”.

Al Udeid is also home to the Combined Air Operations Centre, which provides command and control of air power across the region as well as the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, the largest such unit in the world.

The retaliation came a day after the US launched a surprise attack on three of Iran’s nuclear sites.

Just before the explosions, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on the social platform X: “We will not leave invasion to the great Iran without answer.”

Earlier in the day, Israel expanded its war against Iran to include targets associated with the country’s struggling theocracy, striking the gate of a Tehran prison notorious for holding political activists and hitting the headquarters of the military force that suppressed recent protests.

As plumes of thick smoke rose over Tehran, Israel was attacked with another barrage of Iranian missiles and drones. The persistent fire has become a reality for civilians in both countries since Israel started the war to target Tehran’s nuclear programme.

On the 11th day of the conflict, Israel said it attacked “regime targets and government repression bodies in the heart of Tehran”, but Israeli officials insisted they did not seek the overthrow of Iran’s government, their arch enemy since the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Trump: ‘Make Iran Great Again’

The Israeli military warned Iranians that it would continue to attack military sites around Tehran over “the coming days” as its focus shifts to symbolic targets as well. The military issued the warning on the social platform X, though Iranians are struggling to access the outside world as an internet shutdown has crippled the country.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy makes a statement to MPs in the House of Commons on the latest situation in the Middle East on Monday | PA

The latest strikes unfolded hours after Donald Trump wrote on social media: “If the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change???”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later said the US president was “simply raising a question”. However, suggestions of overthrowing the Iranian government drew new anger from Tehran, which insists it will not negotiate at this time and is threatening to retaliate directly against American troops or interests in a Middle East already inflamed by the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

In London, Downing Street said "around 1,000" people had requested a seat on an evacuation flight - a quarter of the 4,000 who had registered their presence in Israel or Palestine with the Foreign Office.

Lammy urges Iran to ‘take the off ramp’

In his statement to the House Commons, Mr Lammy repeated his plea to Iran to return to the negotiating table following America's strikes on its nuclear programme.

He said: "My message for Tehran was clear, take the off ramp, dial this thing down, and negotiate with the United States seriously and immediately.

"The alternative is an even more destructive and far-reaching conflict, which could have unpredictable consequences."

Mr Lammy also told MPs that the Government has withdrawn staff from its embassy in Iran , telling the House of Commons it is operating "remotely".

The Foreign Secretary also continued to face questions on the legality of the US strikes, but said it "must rightly be a matter for the US government in relation to their action" and added: "This was not our action. We have been clear that we were not involved."

Earlier, Downing Street had said that preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear bomb was a "good thing" for the UK, but declined to comment on whether the US strikes complied with international law.

Meanwhile, oil prices reached their highest level for nearly six months over fears a regional conflict could restrict supply, especially if Iran decided to blockade the Strait of Hormuz.

The jump in prices prompted Mr Trump to post on his Truth Social platform: "EVERYONE, KEEP OIL PRICES DOWN. I'M WATCHING! YOU'RE PLAYING RIGHT INTO THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY. DON'T DO IT!"

In this photo released on Monday by the Iranian army press service, Iran's army commander-in-chief Gen Amir Hatami, centre, Admiral Mahmoud Mousavi, right, and Admiral Habibollah Sayyari attend a meeting in Zolfaghar central headquarters, Iran | AP

Mr Lammy told MPs the Government was "closely monitoring" the energy markets and urged Iran to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, saying a blockade would be "a monumental act of economic self-harm" and make reaching a diplomatic solution even harder.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will announce at a meeting of Nato leaders this week that the UK will increase spending on defence and security to 5 per cent of GDP, but not until 2035.

For the best news from home, subscribe to the Scotsman daily newsletter

The target, expected to be formally agreed by Nato countries at the summit in The Hague, includes spending 3.5 per cent on "core defence" and another 1.5 per cent on "resilience and security".

It represents a significant jump from the current 2 per cent Nato target, and from the UK Government's aim of spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence from 2027 and 3 per cent at some point after the next election.

But the figure is in line with the demands of Mr Trump , who has called for Nato allies to shoulder more of the burden of European defence.

Ahead of his trip to the Netherlands , Sir Keir Starmer said the increased spending target was "an opportunity to deepen our commitment to Nato and drive greater investment in the nation's wider security and resilience".

He said: "We must navigate this era of radical uncertainty with agility, speed and a clear-eyed sense of the national interest to deliver security for working people and keep them safe."