Starmer calls for Iran and Israel to ‘get back’ to ceasefire

Israel and Iran must “get back” to the fragile ceasefire brokered overnight, Sir Keir Starmer said, amid a fresh exchange of hostilities in the Middle East.

The two warring nations had signed up to a ceasefire deal proposed by US President Donald Trump.

But Israel claimed Iran violated the deal by carrying out missile strikes after it came into force.

Iran’s military chiefs denied this, but faced a fresh onslaught ordered by the Israeli defence minister Israel Katz.

Mr Trump called for Israel to withdraw its warplanes, and claimed both it and Iran “don’t know what the f*** they’re doing” as he departed for the Nato summit in the Netherlands.

As he arrived for the summit, Sir Keir meanwhile, called for the ceasefire to be respected.

He told reporters: “I want the ceasefire to continue, and therefore, obviously, the sooner we get back to that the better, and that’s the message that I’m discussing with other leaders today.

“We’ve got a ceasefire. We need to get back to that ceasefire, which is consistent with what I’ve been saying about de-escalation for quite some time now.”

Downing Street said the UK was prioritising getting Iran back to talks to agree a lasting settlement.

“Our priority now is a diplomatic solution, which is why the Prime Minister has urged Iran to come back to the negotiating table in pursuit of a lasting settlement,” a No 10 spokesman said.

In the House of Commons, a minister meanwhile announced that a second evacuation flight has been arranged for Britons in Israel.

Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer told MPs the first RAF flight took place on Monday “and I can confirm to the House now that we will fly another today”.

He added: “We are providing support and advice to more than 1,000 British nationals as they seek to leave the region by land and air.

“We have deployed teams to Israel, Cyprus, Egypt and Jordan.”

The British embassy in Tehran, the capital of Iran, has temporarily withdrawn its staff amid the ongoing crisis, Mr Falconer also told MPs.

The embassy is however still operating remotely and “continues to provide support for British nationals in Iran”, he said.

Both Iran and Israel had agreed to the ceasefire in the early hours of Tuesday morning, after Mr Trump announced they would both sign up to the plan.

But Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned his country would “respond forcefully” if any violation of the agreement was discovered.

Accusations of one soon followed, with the Israeli military claiming Iran fired off missiles several hours after the deal came into force.

Israel then responded by ordering further strikes against Iran.

“ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS. IF YOU DO IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION. BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW!” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social, the social media site he owns.

The US president appeared angry that his peace proposal had not held as he spoke with reporters outside the White House ahead of his departure for the Netherlands.

“They violated it but Israel violated it too,” the US president said, adding: ”I’m not happy with Israel.”

He also said: “You basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f*** they are doing, do you understand that?”