#middle-east-escalation

#middle-east-escalation

Israeli jets targeted three Iranian oil depots, the Iranian semi-official Fars news agency said on Saturday. Israel's Energy Minister Eli Cohen confirmed the attacks, claiming the facilities are used by Iran's military. He also warned that oil refineries and power stations could be targeted in the coming days, in an interview with Israel's 103fm radio.

I personally apologise to neighbouring countries that were affected by Iran's actions. Its temporary leadership council agreed to suspend attacks on nearby states unless strikes on Iran originated from their territory. Trump dismissed this as surrender while saying Iran would be hit very hard on Saturday and warned the U.S. could widen attacks to areas and groups not previously designated targets.

Iran-backed militias around the Middle East are intensifying attacks against Israel, the US and their allies, in retaliation for the ongoing joint US-Israeli offensive against Tehran as the war draws in new armed actors, threatening wider chaos and violence. Israel and the US have targeted Iran's network of militant groups, with Iraq emerging as a key front in this new and often clandestine confrontation.

The escalation in the Middle East doesn't just affect the region itself. The Iranian regime has repeatedly demonstrated in the past that it carries out its terror beyond its own borders. Iranian sleeper cells in Europe cannot be ruled out, and these embedded cells could be activated as part of Tehran's retaliation strategy.

We condemn Iranian attacks on countries in the region in the strongest terms. Iran must refrain from indiscriminate military strikes. We call for a resumption of negotiations and urge the Iranian leadership to seek a negotiated solution. Ultimately, the Iranian people must be allowed to determine their future.

Over the course of the last seven hours, we witnessed initially Israeli and U.S. strikes in Iran, which, as we understand it, are very much still ongoing. And that was quickly followed by Iranian retaliation. Within two hours of Israel announcing that it was carrying out strikes in Iraq, Iran fired its first volley of ballistic missiles towards Israel, sending millions of people in this country rushing to bomb shelters.

Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime. He threatened 'certain death' to members of Islamic Revolutionary Guard, Iran's armed forces, unless they lay down their weapons. And he urged the Iranian people to back him. Mr Trump claimed Iran are developing long range missiles that are a danger to the US and others.

David Lammy emphasized to MPs that the Foreign Office is urging all British nationals in Israel to register, ensuring the government can provide vital evacuation information.