UK closes embassy in Tehran as staff urgently evacuated from Iran

"Foreign Office travel advice has now been updated to reflect this consular change."

An official confirmed Britain's Ambassador and all consular staff were evacuated based on a security assessment and a decision to prioritise staff safety.

The move comes as Iran's leadership tries to quell the worst domestic unrest the Islamic Republic has ever faced and with US President Donald Trump threatening to intervene.

Britain and the United States withdrew some personnel from bases in the Middle East after a senior Iranian official said Tehran had warned neighbours it would hit American bases if Washington strikes.

Italy has strongly renewed an appeal to its citizens to leave Iran because of the security situation in the country, the Foreign Ministry in Rome said earlier today.

There are around 600 Italians in Iran, most of them in the Tehran area, it added.

President Donald Trump told reporters he had been told that killings in Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests were subsiding.

He added he believed there was currently no plan for large-scale executions, even as tensions between Tehran and Washington remained high.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has warned Iran against rebuilding its nuclear and ballistic capabilities after a 12-day Israel-Iran war in June, has not signalled an imminent desire to get involved.

He said "Israel supports their struggle for freedom and strongly condemns the mass killings of innocent civilians.

"We all hope that the Persian nation will soon be liberated from the yoke of tyranny."