Britain summons the Iranian Chargé d'Affairs due to the “dangerous and unnecessary” Iranian escalation

The British Foreign Office summoned Iran's charge d'affaires in London, Mehdi Hosseini Mateen, on Sunday to protest the “extremely dangerous and unnecessary” escalation by Iran following its attack on Israel. A ministry spokesman said in a statement: “The United Kingdom condemns in the strongest terms the direct and unprecedented Iranian attack on Israel, as well as its violation of the airspace of Jordan and Iraq.” London also requested the “immediate and unconditional” release of the ship “MSC Aries” and its crew, which was detained while sailing through the waters of the Strait of Hormuz between the coasts of Iran and the United Arab Emirates. He also urged the Iranian authorities to “take important and immediate measures to reduce tensions and end their reckless and illegal behavior.” He added, “The United Kingdom will continue to defend Israel's security and the security of all our regional partners, including Jordan and Iraq.” This comes after British Foreign Secretary David Cameron reiterated his condemnation “in the strongest terms” of the Iranian attack during a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir Abdollahian. He previously said on the social media network The previous day, Cameron had indicated in another message on social media that Tehran's “reckless” attacks on Israeli territory “will only inflame tensions in the Middle East.” He added, “The United Kingdom calls on the Iranian regime to stop this dangerous escalation that benefits no one.” Israel confirmed that the direct Iranian attack – which Tehran announced under the name “Operation True Promise” – included the launch of 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles, of which “99 percent” were intercepted by Israeli defense systems. Tehran defended that these attacks came within the framework of a legitimate response and its right to “self-defense” after the bombing of its consulate in Damascus, for which it held Israel responsible, and which led to the killing of seven members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard from the pro-Iranian militias, a member of Hezbollah, and an Iranian advisor, And two civilians.