Conflict in the Middle East

Lord Purvis of Tweed Excerpts

Monday 16th June 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for repeating the Statement. We have seen Israel and Iran launch fresh attacks against one another yesterday and, sadly, again today, although it is worth noting that Israel is targeting predominantly nuclear and military sites, whereas Iran seems to be just launching missiles indiscriminately into civilian areas. This is a grave situation and we face the very real possibility that it could yet get a lot worse.

I agree with the Foreign Secretary that our first priority must be to ensure that British citizens in Israel are supported to get out of the region as quickly as possible. It is reported that approximately 40,000 tourists are currently stranded in Israel. As the Minister said, flight routes and land borders have been closed. I appreciate that this is a highly changeable situation, but I hope the Minister can set out the Government’s plans for making sure that British citizens are brought out of harm’s way as quickly as possible.

I totally understand that the Foreign Office is faced with a serious challenge, but we must remember that for British citizens on the ground this is a terrifying and desperately stressful situation. James Eden, a 72 year-old grandfather from my home city of Newcastle, is hoping to take a four-hour bus ride through the Negev and then cross to Egypt before flying home. Despite being a British citizen in a country that the FCDO has now put on its red list, Mr Eden has said of the Foreign Office that all it does is send alerts. On the support that the Foreign Office is providing to help him escape, Mr Eden said, “They are not going to stop me, but they are not going to help me get out of Egypt either”. It is deeply concerning that British citizens are being left in the lurch over their evacuation from what the FCDO has recognised as a high-risk area. I understand the limitations that the Foreign Office has with regard to the closure of airspace, et cetera, but we need to remember that normal people are now in a war zone, and they need all the support, reassurance and help they can get from the Foreign Office in getting out of harm’s way and back home to their families in the UK.

Further to this point, I take the opportunity to ask the Minister what steps the Government are going to take to protect civilians in Israel from falling victim to Iranian rocket attacks. As I said, Iran has deliberately targeted civilian communities in places such as Tel Aviv and Haifa, and the UK has a capacity to support Israel in anti-air operations which will help to protect civilians from further harm. I hope the Minister can update the House on what plans the Government have to use UK assets to defend against Iranian attacks on civilian targets. If this is no longer the ambition of the Government, what has changed since the last time, when the UK military helped to bring down missiles and drones?

Throughout this time of crisis we need to be clear in our resolve that Iran should never have nuclear weapons. Iran has repeatedly defied international conventions, undermined regional peace, and supported extremist groups across the Middle East. It continues to arm and finance proxies responsible for violence in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and, of course, Israel. Iranian leaders have been brutally clear in their stated desire to completely eradicate the State of Israel, and we should listen to what they have said on this. A nuclear-armed Iran would not be a stabilising force—far from it. It would be a threat multiplier, emboldening aggression, enabling coercion, and potentially triggering a regional arms race from which it may not be possible to return. We must never allow the bankrollers of Hezbollah, the Houthis, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to gain access to that sort of weaponry.

As the Minister said, the IAEA has said that as of 17 May Iran has amassed 408 kilograms of uranium, enriched up to 60%. That material is a short technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. The agency has said that Iran is now

“the only non-nuclear-weapon state to produce such material”,

which is of “serious concern”. That is enough uranium to make several nuclear bombs. The Iranian Government have always claimed that they want to master nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, but this, as the IAEA has made clear, is palpable nonsense. We should be working with and fully supporting our allies, including Israel, to ensure that Iran never has access to this sort of weaponry. The warning signs are flashing and I hope the Minister can tell us what steps the Government are taking now to make sure that this fear is not realised. Israel is engaged in an existential fight for its own survival as a nation, but it is also fighting dangerous religious extremism on behalf of the rest of the liberal free world. It should have our full support in that fight.

With regard to the announcement about sanctions last week, it is now more important than ever that we maintain a constructive, effective and open dialogue with Israel. We must be clear that we support it and its civilians when they are targeted by Iran, which has killed numerous civilians in its attacks over the weekend. Can the Minister assure the House that the relationship and leverage so often referred to by the Government have not been negatively affected by the decision to sanction the Israeli Finance and National Security Ministers? I would also appreciate further clarification from the Minister about why this decision was reached. The sanctions imposed on Mr Ben-Gvir and Mr Smotrich —who have said, I completely agree, many outrageous things—ban them from entering the UK and freeze any assets that they have in the United Kingdom. Can the Minister explain why these specific sanctions were chosen? Was there a high chance that Messrs Ben-Gvir and Smotrich would travel to the UK to

“incite violence against the Palestinian people”?

Do these men have substantial assets in the UK which would enable them to do this?

We must ensure that we approach matters of this importance and delicacy with a clear strategy and an eye to the future. We cannot make decisions which seriously change our international relations merely to appease political support from certain sections of society, some of them in this country. In the face of this deeply volatile and dangerous moment in the Middle East, the Government must demonstrate clarity, consistency and compassion. British citizens stranded in a conflict zone must be our immediate priority, as the Minister has said. At the same time, we must stand firm with our allies against attacks on civilians, ensuring that the UK does all it can to uphold international security. That means using our diplomatic leverage wisely, not undermining it through ill-considered sanctions that risk damaging vital relationships. Above all, we must maintain our unwavering resolve to prevent Iran, a state that arms violent proxies and threatens regional peace, from ever acquiring nuclear weapons. The challenges are immense, but so, too, is our responsibility, so I urge the Minister to set out today how the Government will meet this moment with the seriousness and the strategic foresight that it demands.

[Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD)]

I thank the Minister for repeating the Statement made today. I start by referring to the previous Statement on the designations. I have previously described in the House a visit that I made to a destroyed Palestinian village, Zanuta. The community education room in that village, which was co-funded by the UK taxpayer, was bulldozed and the community remains uninhabitable. That is just one example—of too many—of illegal actions by settlers in Palestine. It was an egregious example, not just because we paid for part of the facilities but because it was done in direct line of sight of a local authority justice centre and court. The IDF offers informal—as it says—policing, which is there to prevent Palestinians returning.

Outposts, illegal even under Israeli law, have been expanding, while the violence against the Palestinian communities, which is also illegal under international law, has been not only conducted with impunity but promoted, facilitated and incited. These Benches therefore welcome the measures that the Government have introduced—indeed, the Minister knows that we have called for them for over 18 months—but, as the situation has deteriorated over that period and Palestinians have come under further unjustified violence, we need to expand these measures to include those who are financing and facilitating. If, as I understand it, these measures are being introduced under the human rights regime, those who are supporting those designated can be covered within the expanded remit. Perhaps the Minister could confirm that that is the case.

These Benches believe that this is now the time to recognise a state of Palestine. Not only is it imperative that we do so to prevent further abuses of international humanitarian law, but we are sanctioning those who say that there should be no process at all. The Government’s position is that we should recognise Palestine as part of a process. It is now becoming apparent that there are very many people who do not believe in a process at all.

Lastly on Gaza, we have seen just today more Palestinian civilians killed while simply pleading for food in Gaza. The UK must act urgently to work with others to close the GHF and prevent the use of profiteering mercenaries and to immediately restore safe routes of supply for food and medicine.

Over the weekend, as the Minister referred to, people across the UK have watched with horror as war has broken out between Israel and Iran. This is, as noble Lords have said, a very serious moment for peace and security in the world and here at home. We have seen the start of yet another conflict where civilians are casualties; indeed, both Israeli and Iranian targets have been within densely populated areas and, as we have heard, Iran is offering little discrimination with regard to its responses.

It is worth stating two important principles. The first is that the State of Israel has a right to exist and to defend itself, and the stated goal of the state of Iran to wipe out the State of Israel is contrary to international law and unacceptable. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps continues to seek to suppress its opponents in the UK, and we have called for that organisation to be proscribed. The Foreign Secretary told the House of Commons that we are awaiting promised legislative reforms to close “gaps” that the “state threats” of Iran have been exploiting. Can the Minister tell us what the timetable of that is going to be?

Secondly, Iran’s ambition to create a nuclear weapon to menace the region is also a threat to UK interests, and successive Governments have been right to seek to contain that risk. They have also been right, working with allies through the E3 process, to pursue that through diplomatic means. That is why the actions of the Netanyahu Administration are a huge gamble. It is perhaps an ambition of the United States to carry on diplomatic means. While the first Trump Administration was wrong to withdraw from the JCPOA, the second has been right to seek that diplomatic track. Could the Minister update us on our latest contacts with the United States Administration on their efforts on diplomacy? The danger in war is that any ambition for the diplomatic route could be derailed and the Iranian regime may end up being even less transparent and reduce diplomatic routes even further. The degraded capacity of an Iranian regime could be even harder to contain if it is seeking to expand and attack UK and our allies’ interests.

Whether it is Netanyahu seeking to involve the USA in regime change in Tehran or Tehran itself seeking to expand and threaten trade and energy supplies and their routes, this is an extremely difficult moment. The danger is real and the threat to the UK—as the Minister said, not only to the UK but to our key allies, Jordan and Iraq in particular—is apparent.

We should heed the advice and the warnings of the IAEA director-general, Rafael Grossi, who said in a statement today:

“Military escalation threatens lives, increases the chance of a radiological release with serious consequences for people and the environment, and delays indispensable work towards a diplomatic solution for the long-term assurance that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon”.


We on these Benches agree with him, and we welcome the Foreign Secretary stating that he will be working with E3 allies and be in contact with Tehran this evening. Could the Minister outline the context of what we are seeking? Are we seeking to put the E3 process back on track, or are there any other allies that we can work with on the diplomatic route?

Regrettably, we need to plan for the worst even though we may hope for the best in diplomacy. Those British citizens living in the Middle East will be extremely anxious this evening. Can the Minister confirm that adequate additional resources have been deployed to provide consular support to them, and that—working with allies, including the EU—contingency plans are being developed to support their evacuation should it become necessary?

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I welcome the cross-party support for the Statement; it is much appreciated. This is an extremely concerning and dangerous moment for the entire region and events are moving as we speak. Further escalation is in no one’s interest. We want to see both sides step back and show restraint because no one benefits from a widening conflict. As I said in repeating the Statement, we did not participate in the Israeli strikes. Our focus is on encouraging our partners to de-escalate and to find a diplomatic solution through dialogue.

The Prime Minister has had calls with Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Trump and the leaders of France, Germany and the United Arab Emirates, and the Foreign Secretary has spoken to his Iranian counterpart to urge restraint. As we have said, Israel has a right to self-defence, and the UK has grave concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme. Stability in the Middle East is in everyone’s interests, and further discussions to help to find a diplomatic resolution will take place at the G7 summit in Ottawa.

I fully understand noble Lords’ concerns for British nationals in the region, and we share those concerns. The safety and security of British nationals are our top priority. Our advice to British nationals in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is to keep up to date with developments and follow the instructions given by local authorities, particularly the Israeli Home Front Command. That is the best way of staying safe.

As I said in the Statement, we are launching a “register your presence” portal for British nationals in Israel, to build a clearer picture of who is in the region and who may need assistance. We urge British nationals in Israel to complete this when it becomes available. Our embassy in Tel Aviv and the consulate in Jerusalem are working round the clock and can be contacted 24/7 by any British national in need of consular assistance. We have also sent rapid deployment teams to either side of the Israel-Jordan border to assist those who choose to travel out of the country via land. This is a fast-moving situation. British nationals should read the FCDO’s advice on what to do if you are affected by a crisis abroad. We are monitoring the situation closely and keeping all plans under constant review.

On the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Callanan, as I said in the Statement, we did not participate in any element of the Israeli or Iranian military strikes. It would not be appropriate for me to speculate on future operations decisions; that would benefit only our adversaries.

We must consider the long-term context here. For decades, Iran has pursued destabilising activity in the Middle East and committed human rights violations, and it is increasingly making threats against individuals in the United Kingdom. We have long-standing grave concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme, which has escalated beyond all credible civilian levels.

However, as the Israelis and the US President have made clear, a military solution cannot resolve Iran’s nuclear escalation for the long term. The consequences of continued conflict would bring serious damage not only to the region but globally. Only a diplomatic solution can resolve the nuclear issue for the long term, which is essential for international peace and security and preventing nuclear proliferation around the world. Diplomacy is in the interests of all concerned. It has been the focal point of President Trump, and we certainly support his efforts in reaching that diplomatic solution.

The UK has bilateral defence relationships with a broad range of Middle Eastern partners, including Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Lebanon, Israel and Egypt. Operation Kipion is the UK’s maritime presence in the Gulf and the Indian Ocean, where we have frigates and mine-countering measures. As the PM announced, the UK has deployed further aircraft to the region, but it would not be appropriate to discuss operational defence and intelligence matters further. We are absolutely focused on all those diplomatic efforts.

The noble Lord, Lord Callanan, focused on what the Iranians have been up to with their enriched stockpile, which is more than 40 times the JCPOA limit. The total of Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile on 17 May was 408 kilograms, and there are more than nine significant quantities of highly enriched uranium. The approximate amount is such that the possibility of Iran manufacturing a nuclear explosive device cannot be excluded; there is no credible civilian justification for highly enriched uranium. As the IAEA declared on Thursday, Iran has not been complying with its nuclear non-proliferation obligations for the first time in 20 years. IAEA Director-General Grossi confirmed on 13 June that he had been in contact with inspectors in Iran. He also confirmed that the level of radioactivity outside Iran’s Natanz site has remained unchanged.

I am gravely concerned by reports that Iran’s parliament is preparing legislation to withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Withdrawal would be a serious breach of Iran’s long-standing international commitments and would isolate Iran further.

Following the conclusion of the Iran nuclear deal in 2015, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2231, which includes a mechanism known as the UN snapback. If the snapback process is fully implemented, it will result in the reimposition of the seven UN security resolutions: an embargo on the transfer of conventional arms to Iran; a ban on Iran developing and testing nuclear weapons; a ban on all enrichment pre-processing and heavy water-related activities; asset freezes; travel bans; and unlimited financial trade restrictions. Snapback would likely have a significant short-term impact on the value of Iran’s currency, compounding already high inflation. These are the consequences of its actions if it does not listen to the diplomatic calls, particularly those made by President Trump. The economic consequences would be disastrous.

This is a fast-moving situation. We are urging Israel to comply with international humanitarian law, and we urge all sides to step back and think of the consequences. Only a matter of hours ago, Israel warned the Iranian broadcasting authority that it would attack its headquarters, which it subsequently did. We hope that there were no casualties.

The noble Lord, Lord Callanan, asked about last week’s Statement on sanctions, These sanctions are taken against individuals because of their incitement of and support for violence in their personal capacities. They have a long history of dangerous, extremist and inflammatory views predating their official roles. This language is absolutely to be condemned. Even the Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom said in recent interviews that their statements do not represent government policies. These sanctions apply to individuals in their personal capacities, not to their ministries or departments. I have seen the consequences of those statements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, particularly in some of the isolated outposts, as they are called, of settlers, which have launched direct attacks on Palestinian villages and their way of living, even ensuring that schoolchildren could not get to their schools. Their actions have incited violence, and it is important that we respond to them.

It is important that we do not take our eye off the ball in relation to the situation in Gaza. We are continuing to call on the Israeli authorities to allow humanitarian access. It is vital. As the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, said, even in recent days, we have seen further injury and deaths to people seeking food and other sustenance during this difficult period. I will no doubt answer many more questions, and if I have not picked up on any questions, I am sure I can cover some of the points in the Back Bench debate.