UK’s Sunak urges ‘calmer heads’ after Iran attacks Israel

LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urged “all sides” to “show restraint” as Israel weighs its response to this weekend’s Iranian attack.

Sunak, who is set to call his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, said he would show his “solidarity with Israel” — but stress the need to avoid “further escalation.” It comes amid international pressure on Israel and Iran to prevent the conflict spiraling.

“All sides must show restraint,” the British prime minister told the House of Commons.

U.S., French and British jets were among those involved in deterring the Iranian attack on Israel, which saw the country targeted with some 300 drones and missiles. It followed the killing of senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commanders on Iranian soil.

Iran had, Sunak told MPs, “shown its true colors” with its attack, and revealed itself to be a “despotic regime.” But he said: “We’re working urgently with allies on de-escalation and to prevent further bloodshed. We want to see calmer heads.”

‘Anxious’

U.S. President Joe Biden has already urged Netanyahu to show restraint — an approach mirrored by the U.K.’s top diplomat David Cameron Monday morning.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron’s comments come amid increasing concern about the conflict between Iran and Israel spiraling. | Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Cameron, the foreign secretary, said that while Israel has “every right to respond as an independent, sovereign country,” allies are “very anxious to avoid escalation and to say to our friends in Israel, it’s a time to think with head as well as heart.”

Cameron later told Sky News that Iran had suffered a “double defeat” by both failing to inflict damage on Israel and revealing itself as a “malign influence” in the region.

The U.K.’s main opposition Labour Party issued a similar message Monday, calling on Israel to “step back” from a position of strength. Labour leader Keir Starmer said now marked “a moment for restraint, because escalation will only lead to further destruction.”

A statement from G7 leaders Sunday said Iran’s actions “further stepped toward the destabilization of the region and risks provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation.”

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres meanwhile told the Security Council late Sunday night: “The Middle East is on the brink. The people of the region are confronting the real danger of a devastating full-scale conflict.”