Lord Cameron pleaded with Israel not to escalate confrontations with Iran today amid frantic efforts to calm tensions.
The Foreign Secretary echoed Joe Biden’s suggestion that Benjamin Netanyahu should “take the win” as he toured the broadcast studios.
He insisted that the world needs to keep its focus on Hamas and the ongoing standoff over hostages from the October 7 terrorist attacks.
Rishi Sunak will make a statement to MPs this afternoon, as Israel threatens airstrikes in retaliation for a barrage of 350 missiles over the weekend.
The United States, the United Kingdom and other allies hope to ease the situation, which comes against the backdrop of the bitter conflict in Gaza. There are fears that violence could spread throughout the Middle East and potentially drag down world powers.
Lord Cameron (R) pleaded with Israel not to escalate confrontations with Iran today amid frantic efforts to calm tensions. Rishi Sunak (left) will make a statement to MPs later
Israel’s Iron Dome responds to intercept Iran attack over the weekend
Lord Cameron said: “Israel has every right to respond as an independent sovereign country to attack in this way.”
“But I think we are very keen to avoid escalation and tell our friends in Israel that it is time to think with both our heads and our hearts,” he told Sky News.
‘And in many ways this is a double defeat for Iran. Not only was their attack a near-total failure, but the rest of the world can now see the evil influence they have on the region and understand their true nature.
“That’s why I think it’s right that Israel doesn’t escalate the situation, but obviously it’s a sovereign, independent country and it will make its own decisions.”
The Foreign Secretary said: ‘Our hope is that there will be no retaliatory response and instead the world’s attention should shift to Hamas.
“They are still holding those hostages. They have been offered a deal so that prisoners can be released from Israeli jails in exchange for some of those hostages and there will be a lull in the fighting. “That’s what has to happen next and that’s what I hope we can focus on.”
IDF spokesman Peter Lerner said this morning that there would be retaliation from Israel, stating that this could involve “an attack or no attack.”
He explained that senior military leaders had presented “a wide range of options” and that there are “many different scenarios” on the table.
The Israeli government “will decide the next steps” today.
Israel says it intercepted 99 percent of the hundreds of missiles and drones fired by Iran, with help from the United States, Britain and France.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (center) during a war cabinet meeting in Kirya, Tel Aviv.
Joe Biden spoke with Netanyahu in a late-night phone call on Saturday.
“Just because we managed to intercept we should not underestimate what Iran did,” Mr. Lerner said. “We can’t take that lightly.”
Asked whether Britain would impose more sanctions on Tehran, as Labor has called for, Lord Cameron told BBC Breakfast: “Absolutely. We already have 400 sanctions on Iran. At the end of last year we put in place a fully fledged sanctions regime. new, which is proving very effective.
‘We have sanctioned the IRGC – the Iranian Revolutionary Guard – in its entirety. And we will continue to look at what additional steps we can take.
‘I think there is an opportunity, and I am sure the Prime Minister will talk about this in his statement to the House of Commons, to try to work very closely with our G7 partners. All of these things are more effective if countries can act together.
“I think in many ways Britain has been at the forefront, it has been the most interested in sanctions, pressure and escalation of pressure, recognizing… that Iran is the evil actor in the region, but it is Better if we can do these things together.