UK’s Starmer Makes Rare Call to Iranian President Amid Middle East Tensions

In a rare move, Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer has spoken with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in a bid to de-escalate rising fears of a wider regional conflict in the Middle East, Sky News reports.

Starmer reportedly expressed his “deep concern” to Pezeshkian, amid growing fears that Iran may retaliate against Israel following the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

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 Mr Pezeshkian, Sir Keir 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’s call followed an earlier joint statement by the world leaders urging for a ceasefire and the releaze of hostages in Gaza  to prevent further escalation of the conflict.