Britain withdraws embassy staff from Iran as fears of US attack grow

The British Foreign Office said its ability to assist British nationals was now extremely limited, with the embassy operating remotely and no in-person consular support available even in emergencies.

The US has ordered its staff to evacuate from the Israeli embassy in Jerusalem.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We have taken the precautionary measure to temporarily withdraw UK staff from Iran.

"Our embassy continues to operate remotely."

The United States have also advised: "Persons may wish to consider leaving Israel while commercial flights are available."

This comes as a military escalation is brewing around the Middle-East, with the US amassing its largest concentration of sea and air power in the region since the Second Gulf War.

The US has been locked in in talks with Iran for it to denuclearise for the third time - but has so far failed to reach a deal.

Washington DC has repeatedly threatened to take military action unless an agreement is met.

Downing Street has long maintained the position that strikes against Iran would breach international law.

At least nine US aerial refuelling tankers were tracked landing overnight on Thursday at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, according to analysts reviewing open-source flight data.

Alongside this, the Chagos Islands deal between the UK and Mauritius has stalled as the military base in Diego Garcia is an important asset to the United States, if military action proceeds against Iran.

Strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last year did not use the Diego Garcia base, but it is understood a second set of strikes would be a more sustained bombing campaign, with the US military seeking to deploy from both the Chagos Islands and the UK itself.

Whitehall sources have now said the White House is refusing to change its stance on the Chagos deal until the base is allowed to be used.