Israel Iran attacks: Rachel Reeves says UK could 'potentially' support Israel as more RAF jets sent

Rachel Reeves has indicated the UK could “potentially” support Israel amid the conflict in the Middle East, as she described sending more RAF jets to the region as a “precautionary move”.

The Chancellor told Sky News she was “not going to rule anything out at this stage” given the “fast-moving situation”.

Israel has unleashed air strikes across Iran for a third day and threatened even greater force as some Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defences to strike buildings in the heart of the country.

Israeli security forces inspect destroyed buildings that were hit by a missile fired from Iran, near Tel Aviv. Picture: AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg | AP

Planned talks on Iran’s nuclear programme, which could provide an off-ramp, were called off.

Asked whether the UK would come to Israel’s aid if asked, Ms Reeves told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: “We have, in the past, supported Israel when there have been missiles coming in.

“I’m not going to comment on what might happen in the future. But so far we haven’t been involved, and we’re sending in assets to both protect ourselves and also potentially to support our allies.”

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Pushed again on whether the UK would deploy assets in support of Israel if asked, she said: “What we’ve done in the past … is help protect Israel from incoming strikes. So a defensive activity.”

She added: “I’m not going to rule anything out at this stage … it’s a fast moving situation, a very volatile situation. But we don’t want to see escalation, we want to see de-escalation.”

Ms Reeves said the UK sending more RAF jets to the Middle East “does not mean that we are at war”.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves | PA

She said: “We have not been involved in these strikes or this conflict, but we do have important assets in the region and it is right that we send jets to protect them and that’s what we’ve done. It’s a precautionary move.”

The region braced for a protracted conflict after Israel’s surprise bombardment of Iran’s nuclear and military sites on Friday killed several top generals and nuclear scientists, and neither side showed any sign of backing down.

Israeli soldiers dig through rubble to search for survivors in a residential area hit by a missile fired from Iran, near Tel Aviv, on Sunday. Picture: AP Photo/Ariel Schalit | AP

Iran said Israel struck two oil refineries, raising the prospect of a broader assault on Iran’s heavily sanctioned energy industry that could affect global markets.

The Israeli military, in a social media post, warned Iranians to evacuate arms factories, signalling what could be a further widening of the campaign.

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US President Donald Trump has expressed full support for Israel’s actions while warning Iran it can only avoid further destruction by agreeing to a new nuclear deal.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that if the Israeli strikes on Iran stop, then “our responses will also stop”.

New explosions echoed across Tehran and were reported elsewhere in the country early on Sunday, but there was no update to a death toll put out the day before by Iran’s UN ambassador, who said 78 people had been killed and more than 320 wounded.

In Israel, at least ten people were killed in Iranian strikes overnight and into Sunday, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service, bringing the country’s total death toll to 13. The country’s main international airport and airspace remained closed for a third day.

People take shelter during sirens warning of incoming fire in Tel Aviv. Picture: AP Photo/Baz Ratner | AP

Israeli strikes targeted Iran’s Defence Ministry early on Sunday after hitting air defences, military bases and sites associated with its nuclear programme.

The killing of several top generals and nuclear scientists in targeted strikes indicated that Israeli intelligence has penetrated Iran at the highest levels.

In Israel, at least six people, including a ten-year-old and a nine-year-old, were killed when a missile hit an apartment building in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv.

Daniel Hadad, a local police commander, said 180 people were wounded and seven are still missing.

Israel’s ambassador to the UK has said “Europe owes a huge thank you” for its strikes on Iranian nuclear infrastructure. Tzipi Hotovely insisted the operation was an act of self-defence and argued Iran had rejected diplomatic efforts to ease tensions.

She told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: “Europe owes a huge thank you to Israel for doing that, and the Gulf countries as well. Our region would have been a place that is not safe for anyone if Iran had accomplished their plan.”

Referencing past airstrikes on suspected nuclear sites in Iraq in 1981 and Syria in 2007, Ms Hotovely added: “The international community owes a huge thank you to Israel and it’s the same case here.”

Her comments come amid international calls, including from the UK, for de-escalation between Israel and Iran.