Keir Starmer has urged the Iranian prime minister to refrain from attacking Israel (Picture: Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street)
Sir Keir Starmer has made a rare phone call to Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian, urging him to ‘refrain from attacking Israel’, Downing Street has said.
There are growing fears Iran will escalate its conflict with Israel into an all-out war after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the country on July 31.
Mr Pezeshkian, who has been in office for barely a month, is considered a reformist by Iranian standards, but nevertheless vowed to make Israel ‘regret’ an air strike on Tehran which killed Mr Haniyeh.
It comes after Israeli forces faced widespread condemnation after bombing a school in southern Gaza this week, resulting in the deaths of up to 100 Palestinian civilians, many of whom were children.
During his call with Mr Pezeshkian, Starmer said he was ‘deeply concerned by the situation in the region and called on all parties to de-escalate and avoid further regional confrontation.’
The prime minister called on Iran to refrain from attacking Israel, adding that war was not in anyone’s interests, according to a Downing St source.
A No.10 spokeswoman said: ‘The Prime Minister underlined his commitment to an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and increasing humanitarian aid to Gaza. He added the focus should be on diplomatic negotiations, to achieve those outcomes.
‘The Prime Minister also raised the cases of foreign detainees in Iran, adding that it was vital that they received the necessary medical care.
‘The leaders agreed that a constructive dialogue between the UK and Iran was in both countries’ interests. The Prime Minister added that could only be furthered if Iran ceased its destabilising actions including threats against individuals in the UK and did not further aid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.’
The 30-minute phone conversation was followed by a joint statement issued by the UK, US, France, and Germany, in which they called on Iran and its allies to ‘stand down its ongoing threats of a military attack against Israel’.
In 2022, then-prime minister Boris Johnson made a similar phone call to Vladimir Putin just days before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Israel is currently being investigated for genocide at the World Court, while Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defence minister Yoav Gallant are being sought for arrest by the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor.
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