The Government stands “ready and prepared” should tensions further escalate in the Middle East, Foreign Secretary David Lammy told Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting.
It comes amid fears that retaliation for the killings last week of senior members of militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas may lead to a wider war in the region.
A Cabinet readout from Downing Street said: “Turning to the Middle East, the Foreign Secretary updated on the rising tensions across the region and said that the Government’s focus was around encouraging de-escalation.
“He made clear that the Government stood ready and prepared should the situation deteriorate.”
Over the weekend, Mr Lammy repeated calls for UK citizens in Lebanon to leave amid heightened friction between Israel and Hezbollah.
Military personnel and consular experts have been deployed to the Middle East to help British nationals in the region.
Concerns over an all-out conflict have mounted following the assassinations, attributed to Israel, of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran’s capital, Tehran, and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Lebanon’s Beirut.
Sir Keir Starmer also highlighted the “urgent need for de-escalation” in the Middle East in his Tuesday morning meeting with Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq Al Said.
The Prime Minister discussed Oman’s defence and economy with the country’s leader as he hosted him for bilateral talks at No 10.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “Turning to the situation in the Middle East, the Prime Minister emphasised the clear and urgent need for de-escalation and urged all parties in the region to exercise restraint.”
Read More
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
