Sir Keir Starmer will hold an urgent “Cobra” meeting in a matter of hours, GB News understands.
The Prime Minister, who will have only just returned from his trip to Canada for the G7 summit, will be chairing the meeting.
It is understood that the meeting, designed to handle matters of national emergency or major disruption, follows concerns that the US is set to enter the conflict between Israel and Iran.
And it comes mere hours after families of staff at the British embassy in Tel Aviv and the consulate in Jerusalem were “temporarily withdrawn as a precautionary measure”, according to the Foreign Office.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said this afternoon that Downing Street’s “position remains that we want to de-escalate the situation, we want to de-escalate rather than escalate”.
“We are clear that de-escalation is the right outcome for the Middle East, we are conscious, as the PM has said, that this has an impact on the lives of people in the United Kingdom,” he added.
But the spokesman failed to repeat Starmer’s words yesterday that he was confident the US wouldn’t enter into the conflict.
“The Prime Minister’s been focused in recent days at the G7 on de-escalation and we will continue to be focused on de-escalation.”
“This is an extremely fast-moving situation and we are working with partners to reiterate the need to return to diplomacy,” No10 vowed.
Early on Friday afternoon, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, threatened America with “irreparable harm” if it stepped into the conflict.
“The harm the US will suffer will definitely be irreparable if they enter this conflict militarily,” Khamenei said in a statement, before adding: “It was already suspected that the US was involved in the malicious move carried out by the Zionist regime, but considering their recent remarks, this suspicion is growing stronger day by day.”
Over in the US, sources have indicated that Trump and his team were considering options including joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear sites, according to Reuters.
And yesterday, the President revealed on social media: “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now … Our patience is wearing thin.”
The leaders’ war of words – and Iran and Israel’s series of missile strikes – come as thousands of Britons remain stranded in Israel and unable to leave.
Israeli airspace is closed until further notice and all flights have been grounded, with no sign of an imminent pause in hostilities.