Starmer tells Netanyahu Israel and Iran must pull back from the brink

Israel and Iran must de-escalate and work towards a "diplomatic resolution", Sir Keir Starmer has told his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu amid mounting tensions in the Middle East.

Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles at Israel on Friday night as it vowed to exact revenge in retaliation for overnight strikes.

Explosions were heard in Jerusalem and smoke was seen rising over Tel Aviv as the retaliation was unleashed following the assassination of the head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami.

First-responders gather outside a building that was hit by an Israeli strike in Tehran on Friday | TASNIM NEWS/AFP via Getty Images

The Israeli strikes also killed several other military leaders, along with six scientists who were involved in Iran’s nuclear programme.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, vowed revenge, and his country launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel in a retaliatory attack.

The blistering assault involved warplanes and drones smuggled into Iran to target key facilities and kill top generals and scientists.

Israel said the barrage was necessary before its adversary got any closer to building an atomic weapon.

In a video address posted on Friday, Mr Netanyahu said Israel was striking "the heart of Iran's nuclear weaponisation programme".

Sir Keir spoke with France's President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and the three leaders called for Iran and Israel to use restraint.

The Prime Minister also convened a Cobra meeting on Friday, joined by senior ministers and officials.

Warren Stephens , the US ambassador to the UK, was also seen outside the Cabinet Office in Whitehall after the meeting.

Giving a readout of Sir Keir's call with Mr Netanyahu, a Downing Street spokesperson said: "The Prime Minister was clear that Israel has a right to self-defence and set out the UK's grave concerns about Iran's nuclear programme.

"He reiterated the need for de-escalation and a diplomatic resolution, in the interests of stability in the region."

‘Grave concerns’ over nuclear programme

Sir Keir and his French and German counterparts had earlier "discussed the long-held grave concerns about Iran's nuclear programme, and called on all sides to refrain from further escalation that could further destabilise the region", according to No 10.

The UK is prepared to take "every diplomatic step" to prevent Iran developing nuclear weapons after Israeli strikes, Downing Street earlier said.

This could include reinstating sanctions lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran by triggering the "snap back" mechanism.

People and first-responders gather atop a building that was hit by an Israeli strike in Tehran | TASNIM NEWS/AFP via Getty Images

Iran's nuclear programme is "more advanced than ever, and it is a clear threat to international peace and security", the spokesman said.

"We've urged Iran to continue engaging with President Trump's offer of a negotiated solution and we continue to liaise closely with our partners on this."

Both the UK and US have said they did not take part in Israel's overnight strikes, with US secretary of state Marco Rubio and Foreign Secretary David Lammy both stating Israel acted unilaterally.

The attack appeared to be the most significant Iran has faced since its war with Iraq in the 1980s.

Mr Lammy spoke with his Iranian counterpart on Friday to "urge restraint at this time and calm".

"I recognise that this is a moment of grave peril in the Middle East ," the Foreign Secretary added.

Mr Lammy had been due to travel to the US on Friday, it is understood, but remained in London as the situation developed.

Trump calls for a deal

Tensions between Israel , the US and Iran have escalated in recent weeks, with US President Donald Trump suggesting some sort of attack by America or the Israelis could happen if negotiators failed to reach a deal over Iran's advancing nuclear programme.

Mr Trump said he "gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal" and warned that Israel has "a lot of" US military equipment, and they "know how to use it".

" Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left... JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE," he posted on Truth Social.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said "warm words" would not stop Iran , and that she did not see Israel's action as an escalation.

"If Israel sees Iran getting nuclear weapons, I don't think it should sit back and put its feet up and say 'Well, we're de-escalating'.

"Because the person, the country, that will escalate is Iran , and that would be absolutely disastrous for the entire world."

Iran quickly retaliated to Israel’s assault, sending a swarm of drones at the country as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned of "severe punishment".

Israel's military said about 200 aircraft were involved in the initial attack on about 100 targets.

A woman chants slogans as people gather for a protest against Israel's wave of strikes on Iran in Enghelab (Revolution) Square in central Tehran | AFP via Getty Images

Its Mossad spy agency positioned explosive drones and precision weapons inside Iran ahead of time, and used them to target Iranian air defences and missile launchers near Tehran, according to security officials.

Among the key sites Israel attacked was Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz, where black smoke could be seen rising into the air.

It also appeared to strike a second, smaller nuclear enrichment facility in Fordo, about 60 miles from Tehran.

Israel also said it destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran.

Military leaders eliminated

Israel military spokesman Effie Defrin said the Natanz facility was "significantly damaged" and that the operation was "still in the beginning".

Among those killed were three of Iran's top military leaders: one who oversaw the entire armed forces, General Mohammad Bagheri; one who led the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, General Hossein Salami; and the head of the Guard's ballistic missile programme, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.

Iran confirmed all three deaths, significant blows to its governing theocracy that will complicate efforts to retaliate. Khamenei said other top military officials and scientists were also killed.

In its first response, Iran fired more than 100 drones at Israel. Israel said the drones were being intercepted outside its airspace, and it was not immediately clear whether any got through.

Israeli leaders said the attack was necessary to head off an imminent threat that Iran would build nuclear bombs.

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"This is a clear and present danger to Israel's very survival," Mr Netanyahu said as he vowed to pursue the attack for as long as necessary to "remove this threat".

Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East but has never acknowledged having such weapons.

On Friday, Israelis rushed to supermarkets in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and elsewhere to buy bottled water and other supplies. But, otherwise, streets and parks were mostly deserted.

The war in Gaza that began after Hamas’s invasion of Israel on 7 October 2023 is now more than 20 months old.

Netanyahu urges Iranians to bring down ‘brutal dictatorship’

Mr Netanyahu expressed hope Friday’s attacks would trigger the downfall of Iran's theocracy, saying his message to the Iranian people was that the fight was not with them, but with the "brutal dictatorship that has oppressed you for 46 years".

"I believe that the day of your liberation is near," he said.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio said Israel took "unilateral action against Iran " and that it believed the strikes were necessary for its self-defence.

The First Minister said the international community must “hold Israel to account” and called for de-escalation.

Asked about the developments at the British-Irish Council summit in Northern Ireland, John Swinney said: “The sense of danger is enormous in the Middle East as a consequence of this major escalation of the engagement between Israel and Iran.

“I make an appeal for the international community to hold Israel to account, this must be de-escalated.

“Coming on top of the humanitarian tragedy that is unfolding in Gaza, the situation needs to be de-escalated as an absolute matter of priority.”