Yahoo News Sir Keir Starmer says Britain 'stands with Israel' after attack by Iran
Sir Keir Starmer has expressed the UK's solidarity with Israel and its support for the nation's "reasonable demand for the security of its people" following an assault by Iran. Speaking from Downing Street on Tuesday evening, the Prime Minister labelled Tehran as a long-standing threat to the Middle East and urged an end to such hostilities.
"We stand with Israel and we recognise her right to self-defence in the face of this aggression," he declared.
"Iran must stop these attacks. Together with its proxies like Hezbollah, Iran has menaced the Middle East for far too long, chaos and destruction brought not just to Israel, but to the people they live amongst in Lebanon and beyond.
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"Make no mistake, Britain stands full square against such violence. We support Israel’s reasonable demand for the security of its people."
The Prime Minister also repeated his advice to British nationals in Lebanon to leave, with the situation becoming “increasingly grave”.
“We have a charter flight, and we’re doing everything we can to get people out, but the situation is extremely volatile,” he said. “So if you have the means to leave, the time is now. Do not wait.”
The offensive against Israel commenced while Sir Keir was engaged in discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, as confirmed earlier by Downing Street.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy also spoke out, cautioning against a "cycle of escalation" while denouncing the attack. According to the Associated Press news agency, Iran acknowledged launching a barrage of missiles at Israel on Tuesday, stating it was in response to the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last week.
