PM calls for de-escalation, while officials decline to confirm if UK helped defend Israel from retaliatory Iranian drones
Middle East crisis – live updates
Britain was not involved in providing military support to Israel’s attack on Iran, the UK government has said, as the prime minister called for all parties to urgently de-escalate after the airstrikes that were launched overnight.
Officials also initially indicated the UK was not involved in shooting down about 100 drones launched by Iran in retaliation – but later declined to comment when asked formally to confirm this.
The US has also said it was not involved in the attack on Iran – describing the Israeli action as unilateral – but warned Iran and its allies not to target US interests or personnel in the region.
