A government charter flight to evacuate British nationals left stranded by the escalating US-Iran war will take off from Oman “in the coming days”, the has foreign secretary confirmed.
Yvette Cooper also told the Commons 130,000 British nationals have signed up to the “register your presence” programme in the Middle East that allows them to receive updates from the British government as conflict in the Middle East ramps up.
Blasts have been felt in cities across the Gulf after the US and Israel launched strikes towards Iran on Saturday. Iran retaliated with counterstrikes across the region, targeting military bases, with Cyprus and Kuwait are among the many countries recording drones heading towards bases occupied by UK and US forces.
But the crisis has spilled over into residential and tourism hotspots, with tourist areas such as Dubai coming under fire in missile attacks at the weekend.
Large areas of airspace over the region remain closed, with few flights able to leave because of the fighting, resulting in thousands of people stranded.
Confirming news of the evacuation flight, Ms Cooper said a government plane would take off from Muscat, Oman.
Ms Cooper told MPs: “Members will know that in many of these countries, the airspace is still closed, but I am in close contact with my counterparts across the region, speaking again yesterday with the UAE on the excellent support that they are providing and some of the departures that they are now securing as this becomes viable.
“We are also working with airlines on increasing capacity out of Muscat for British nationals, with priority for vulnerable nationals, and a government charter flight will fly from Muscat in the coming days, prioritising vulnerable nationals, but British nationals in Oman must wait to be contacted by the foreign office regarding these options, and we will continue to work 24/7 on supporting British nationals in the region.
“I would tell the House, this is a very fast-moving situation. We have unprecedented numbers of British nationals in the region, and I will continue to update members and affected British nationals as the situation evolves.”
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has been branded unhelpful by US president Donald Trump, who launched airstrikes in the region after accusing Tehran of waging an “unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder targeting the United States”.
Sir Keir on Monday said his government “does not believe in regime change from the skies”, in an apparent criticism of the US president’s bombing campaign, after earlier refusing to allow the US to launch strikes from UK bases.
Mr Trump hit back, claiming Sir Keir had “not been helpful” and branded the transatlantic rift “very sad” and said the so-called special relationship between the UK and US had been fundamentally changed, in an interview with The Sun on Monday evening.
“This was the most solid relationship of all. And now we have very strong relationships with other countries in Europe,” he said. “It’s not going to matter, but [Sir Keir] should have helped… he should have.
“I mean, France has been great. They’ve all been great. The UK has been much different from others.”
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Darren Jones said the US and Israel’s initial strikes in Iran did not “meet the test the prime minister has set out”, as he faced questions about the extent of British support for America’s course of action.
Chris Philp, speaking for the Conservative Party, said the US action against Iran was “completely justified” and that Sir Keir had “seriously undermined” the special relationship by failing to back it right away.
“Through his actions, Keir Starmer has very seriously undermined our special relationship with the US, which has been the bedrock of our security for decades now,” he said.
Are you a British national impacted by the escalations between Iran, the US and Israel? Get in touch at bryony.gooch.ind@independent.co.uk
