RACHEL Reeves has indicated that the UK could “potentially” support Israel amid the conflict in the Middle East.
It comes after Keir Starmer confirmed that the UK would send jets to the Middle East following the attacks sparked by Israel.
Israel has unleashed air strikes across Iran for a third day and threatened even greater force as some Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defences to strike buildings in the heart of the country.
Planned talks on Iran’s nuclear programme, which could provide an off-ramp for the conflict, were called off.
The region braced for a protracted conflict after Israel’s surprise bombardment of Iran’s nuclear and military sites on Friday killed several top generals and nuclear scientists.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that if the Israeli strikes on Iran stop, then “our responses will also stop”.
Reeves told Sky News that she was “not going to rule anything out at this stage” given the “fast-moving situation”.
Asked whether the UK would come to Israel’s aid if asked, the Chancellor told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: “We have, in the past, supported Israel when there have been missiles coming in.
“I’m not going to comment on what might happen in the future, but so far, we haven’t been involved, and we’re sending in assets to both protect ourselves and also potentially to support our allies.”
Pushed again on whether the UK would deploy assets in support of Israel if asked, she said: “What we’ve done in the past (…) is help protect Israel from incoming strikes. So a defensive activity.”
She added: “I’m not going to rule anything out at this stage (…) it’s a fast moving situation, a very volatile situation.
“But we don’t want to see escalation, we want to see de-escalation.”
Iran said Israel struck two oil refineries, raising the prospect of a broader assault on Iran’s heavily sanctioned energy industry that could affect global markets.
The Israeli military, in a social media post, warned Iranians to evacuate arms factories, signalling what could be a further widening of the campaign.
US President Donald Trump has expressed full support for Israel’s actions while warning Iran that it can only avoid further destruction by agreeing to a new nuclear deal.
New explosions echoed across Tehran and were reported elsewhere in the country early on Sunday, but there was no update to a death toll put out the day before by Iran’s UN ambassador, who said 78 people had been killed and more than 320 wounded.
In Israel, at least 10 people were killed in Iranian strikes overnight and into Sunday, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service, bringing the country’s total death toll to 13.
