Sir Keir Starmer has discussed whether the UK should provide military support to the US if Donald Trump joins Israel's war against Iran.
The Prime Minister, who chaired an emergency Cobra meeting with senior security officials and ministers in No10, called the meeting shortly after returning from the G7 summit in Canada.
During the G7 summit, President Trump jetted off back to Washington to monitor tensions in the Middle East.
Speaking earlier today, Trump told reporters: “You don’t know that I’m going to even do. You don’t know. I may do it. I may not do it.”
He added that “nobody knows what I’m going to do”, warning: “Iran’s got a lot of trouble, and they want to negotiate.”
Britain could use its Diego Garcia airbase base in the Indian Ocean as a launchpad for any strikes against Tehran.
America's B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, which carry so-called “bunker busting” bombs capable of destroying Iran’s underground Fordo site, are also stationed at the base.
In a statement released after today's Cobra meeting, a Downing Street spokesman said: "The Prime Minister chaired a ministerial Cobra meeting this afternoon on the situation in the Middle East.
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Donald Trump and Keir Starmer
PA"Ministers were updated on efforts to support British nationals in the region and protect regional security, as well as ongoing diplomatic efforts"
Starmer had previously said he was confident that the US would not join Israel's aerial bombardment of Iran.
"There is nothing the President said that suggests he's about to get involved in this conflict, on the contrary, the G7 statement was about de-escalation."
However, Downing Street stopped short of echoing the Prime Minister's comments earlier today.
Smoke rises from a fire, as the Israel-Iran air war continues, in Tehran, IranREUTERSFollowing the Cobra meeting, the Prime Minister called a number of Middle Eastern leaders to discuss the ongoing situation.
In a statement released after Starmer spoke to Qatari Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, a Downing Street spokesman said: "The leaders began by discussing the developments in the Middle East in recent days, and both echoed the need for de-escalation and diplomacy."
Israel and Iran have continued to conduct bombing raids against one another after Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the Israeli Air Force to strike Tehran and Natanz.
Iran has fired approximately 400 ballistic missiles and 1,000 drones at Israel since tensions flared last Friday.
Ayatollah Khamenei
REUTERSAt least 24 Israelis have been killed since Tehran launched its operation.
Meanwhile, in its latest update, rights group Human Rights Activists, claimed Israeli strikes have killed at least 585 Iranians.
Despite Iran's death toll rising, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected Donald Trump's demand for "unconditional surrender" on Wednesday.
"Intelligent people who know Iran, the Iranian nation, and its history will never speak to this nation in threatening language because the Iranian nation will not surrender," Khamenei said.
Keir Starmer
PA"The Americans should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage."
Iran also vowed to inflict "serious irreparable consequences" on the US if Trump opted to join Netanyahu's bombardment campaign.
“The US entering in this matter is 100 per cent to its own detriment. The damage it will suffer will be far greater than any harm that Iran may encounter,” he raged.
“It was already suspected that the US was involved in the malicious move carried out by the Zionist regime, but considering their recent remarks, this suspicion is growing stronger day by day.”
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