As Donald Trump held out the threat of targeting Tehran’s nuclear facilities with bunker-busting bombs, the Prime Minister, ministers and senior officials are understood to have discussed a range of scenarios for the UK response to the Middle East crisis.
But the government has insisted it is still urging Israel and Iran to de-escalate the conflict.
Keir Starmer met Nato leaders including Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump at this week’s G7 summit in Canada, before a Nato summit in The Hague next week (Photo: Suzanne Plunkett/PA)
The Foreign Office is not urging Britons to leave the country if they are already there, but advising them to follow local instructions about using shelters in the event of incoming missile attack.
On Wednesday the Foreign Office began withdrawing the families of British embassy and consular staff currently in Israel, leading to questions why ordinary citizens were not being evacuated.
The department said the evacuation was temporary and a “precautionary measure”, with staff remaining at the embassy in Tel Aviv and the consulate in Jerusalem.
Britons currently in Israel have been asked to register their presence with the embassy, ahead of a possible evacuation from the country.
At the G7 summit in Canada earlier this week, the Prime Minister insisted that the UK position was one of contingency support.
Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv, Israel, early Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)It is understood that the number of Britons who have registered their presence with the embassy in Israel is in the low thousands so far.
Despite Britons not being asked to leave, people outside the country are being advised by the Foreign Office not to travel to Israel or Iran.
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Advice could change if Israeli airspace reopens and people can get flights out.
A No 10 spokesman would only say that the Government’s “key message” was to “follow the advice of local authorities on staying close to shelter”.
Starmer had insisted earlier this week that Mr Trump was interested in de-escalation in the Middle East, saying “nothing” he had heard from the president suggested Washington was poised to get involved.
Asked whether the Prime Minister was confident that Trump would not involve US forces in the conflict, a Number 10 spokesman said the UK’s position was still that “we want to de-escalate rather than escalate”.
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