The phone call between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was brief, I am told, and was instigated by the White House.
Downing Street's public account of what was discussed was, to put it gently, rather broad: "They discussed the situation in the Middle East," the readout said.
In so doing, it glossed over the simple truth: the UK, alongside France and Germany, were neither involved in any way in America and Israel's actions, nor have they endorsed them.
Sir Keir has repeated his long-standing condemnation of Iran and, in particular, its retaliatory actions this weekend against Israel and several Gulf nations which host US military bases. He was careful to emphasise that the British warplanes airborne in the region are there in a defensive capacity, within international law – in other words offering protection for allies who are facing attacks from Iran.
The domestic political reaction to the government's stance has divided more or less along right and left lines.
