RAF fighter jets have been sent to the Middle East to provide "contingency support across the region", Sir Keir Starmer has said.
The Prime Minister said that British planes have been deployed near where Israel and Iran have been firing missiles at each other.
Starmer told reporters en route to the G7 gathering of world leaders in Canada that he could not give any further details of UK involvement.
He said: "These are obviously operational decisions and the situation is ongoing and developing and therefore I'm not going to get into the precise details.
The Prime Minister said that British planes have been deployed (file photo)
PA
"But we are moving assets, we've already been moving assets to the region, including jets, and that is for contingency support across the region. So that is happening."
No10 sources said that refuelling aircraft have been deployed from UK bases and additional fast jets including Eurofighter Typhoons will be sent in.
The military reinforcements will provide contingency support throughout the Middle East, should the escalation continue.
British aircraft had started their deployment preparations on Friday morning, when it was clear the situation in the region was deteriorating - though at the time, defence sources warned there were "no plans" to help defend Israel.
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'We've already been moving assets to the region,' the PM revealed (file photo)
PA
The UK already has RAF jets in the region as part of Operation Shader against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has already spoken with Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, and he disclosed that his Foreign Secretary David Lammy has now spoken with his Iranian counterpart in Tehran.
He said: "Our constant message is de-escalate, and therefore everything we're doing, all discussions we're having, are to do with de-escalation."
Starmer declined to be drawn on whether he was told in advance of Israel's attack.
The Prime Minister has already spoken with Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu
REUTERSHe said: "I'm not going to go into what information we had at the time or since. But we discuss these things intensely with our allies.
"I'm not going to get into precisely what we knew, because it's a constant flow of information between our allies, and between us and the US."
Then, when asked if the attacks on Iran were a shock, he said: "I'm not going to start answering what goes around on intelligence channels."
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