‘Simply not true’ UK is being dragged into Iraq-style conflict, says foreign secretary

Yvette Cooper says plans under consideration to evacuate about 300,000 Britons from Middle East amid Iran war

US-Israel war on Iran – live updates

It is “simply not true” that the UK is being dragged into another Iraq-style conflict in the Middle East, Yvette Cooper has said, after an RAF base in Cyprus was struck by an Iranian drone.

The attack was part of a barrage of strikes by Tehran around the Middle East after a US-Israeli attack on Saturday that killed the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The UK foreign secretary confirmed ministers were considering possible plans to evacuate about 300,000 Britons from the region.

Britain had no involvement in the initial attack but in a statement late on Sunday, Keir Starmer said he had agreed to let the US use British military bases to attack Iranian missile sites, so as to limit the impact of Iranian strikes.