Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what diplomatic steps the Foreign Secretary is taking to help de-escalate hostilities between Israel and Iran in order to prevent a wider Middle East war.

We condemned in the strongest terms Iran's direct attack against Israel on 13 April. The UK will continue to stand up for Israel's security and the security of all our regional partners. We are working urgently with our allies to deescalate the situation.

The Foreign Secretary spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian on 14 April and called for Iran to take immediate action to de-escalate, including by restraining their aligned militia groups and immediately releasing the MSC Aries and her crew. Furthermore, the UK announced new sanctions on Iran on 18 April, and in coordination with the US, targeted those who have enabled Iran's destabilising regional activity.