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Britain is deploying military assets, including fighter jets, to the Middle East as a contingency measure amid escalating tensions between Iran and Israel, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Saturday while en route to Canada for G7 talks.
“We are moving assets to the region, including jets, and that is for contingency support,” Starmer told reporters aboard his flight to Ottawa.
The prime minister said he had spoken with both U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following Israel’s initial wave of strikes on Iranian territory early Friday, which targeted military and nuclear sites.
According to officials, dozens of people were killed in the Israeli strikes, including top military and Revolutionary Guards commanders, as well as civilians.
Iran responded with overnight barrages of drones and missiles targeting Israel from Friday into Saturday.
Israel launched a series of airstrikes on Iranian territory early Friday, targeting nuclear and missile infrastructure and killing senior military officials and scientists. The attacks, which continued into Saturday, have killed at least 78 people and injured 320 others, according to Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations.
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Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the U.N. Security Council on Friday that while radiation levels outside Iran’s Natanz nuclear site remained “unchanged and at normal levels,” the attacks did cause “radiological and chemical contamination inside the facilities.”
Starmer described the situation as "fast-moving" and "intense," adding, “We're having ongoing discussions with our allies all of the time, both myself and (Foreign Secretary) David Lammy, who also spoke to the Iranians.”
“Our constant message is de-escalate, and therefore everything we're doing—all discussions we're having—are to do with de-escalation,” he said.
Starmer described his Friday call with Netanyahu as "good and constructive," noting it included discussions on the "safety and security of Israel."
Foreign Secretary Lammy said earlier Saturday he was "alarmed" by continued strikes overnight.
“We must urgently de-escalate and prevent any further harm to civilians,” Lammy said in a social media post, adding that he had spoken with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi "to urge calm."
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