Full list of countries affected by updated travel advice as tensions between Iran and Israel escalate

Britain's Foreign Office has updated travel advice for a number of popular holiday destinations due to rising tensions in the Middle East. Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel after an airstrike destroyed its consulate in Syria and left a number of key military officials dead.

Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Israel “must be punished and it shall be”. Israel, already at war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, has not commented on the airstrike earlier this month - but has threatened to strike directly at Iran if it launched an attack from its territory.

As a result of the rising tensions, the Foreign Office on Friday updated advice for a number of surrounding countries and in the wider Arab World.

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The updated advice states: "There is rising tension between Iran and Israel. Any military action could escalate quickly and could pose risks for the wider region. If you are in the region, or considering travel to the region, monitor news updates and continue to check FCDO travel advice for updates."

While many of the countries are not frequently visited by British tourists, and the Foreign Office already advises against all travel to a number including Syria and Yemen - other popular destinations are on there. These include Morocco, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates (including Dubai and Abu Dhabi) and Egypt.

From Stansted Airport in Essex a number of direct flights operate to some of these countries. These include an Emirates service to Dubai, a TUI flight to Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt and Ryanair flights to a number of destinations in Morocco including Fez, Tangier and Marrakech.

Full list of affected countries:

The following countries have had their travel advice updated to reflect the rising tensions between Israel and Iran. All information is subject to change at short notice and people should check the latest travel advice from the Foreign Office.

Algeria

Bahrain

Iran*

Iraq**

Jordan

Lebanon*

Libya*

Morocco

Kuwait

Oman

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Syria*

Yemen*

*The Foreign Office already advises against all travel to this location

**The Foreign Office already advises against all travel to most of Iraq and only essential travel to Iraqi Kurdistan