During his call with Pezeshkian, Starmer said he was “deeply concerned by the situation” and called on all parties to “de-escalate and avoid further regional confrontation”, according to a readout of the conversation from Downing Street…reports Asian Lite News
Keir Starmer has spoken with Iran’s president as part of international efforts to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East. The 30-minute phone conversation with Masoud Pezeshkian followed a joint statement issued by the UK, US, France, and Germany, which called on Iran and its allies to “stand down its ongoing threats of a military attack against Israel”.
There are growing fears Iran will retaliate against Israel over the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in the country, prompting the US to order the deployment of a guided missile submarine to the Middle East.
During his call with Pezeshkian, Starmer said he was “deeply concerned by the situation” and called on all parties to “de-escalate and avoid further regional confrontation”, according to a readout of the conversation from Downing Street.
The prime minister also said there was a “serious risk of miscalculation and now was the time for calm and careful consideration”, calling on Iran to “refrain from attacking Israel” and saying that “war was not in anyone’s interests”.
The readout continued: “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.”
Starmer also raised the cases of foreign detainees in Iran, and the two leaders agreed that “constructive dialogue…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”, Downing Street said.
In the call, Starmer was able to push the message Western leaders are using “as the carrot… to bring Iran down from the edge.”
In the earlier joint statement, which also included Italy, the world leaders said there was “no further time to lose” in reaching a ceasefire and securing the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza.
The statement added: “We expressed our support for the defence of Israel against Iranian aggression and against attacks by Iran-backed terrorist groups.
“We called on Iran to stand down its ongoing threats of a military attack against Israel and discussed the serious consequences for regional security should such an attack take place.”
Asked about a possible retaliation by Iran or Hezbollah, or an escalation in the regional conflict, an Israeli government spokesman described a “ring of terror armies”.