Keir Starmer has become the first British prime minister in more than three years to speak to an Iranian president after phoning Masoud Pezeshkian last night.
Starmer told Pezeshkian that he is “deeply concerned” that Iran may hit back at Israel over the killing of a Hamas leader last month.
Ismail Haniyeh, who headed up the political branch of the Palestinian militant group, was killed while in Tehran, supposedly by Israel – although the country has not admitted to it.
Hamas is backed by Iran, and has been supported by the state throughout its war against Israel in Gaza.
Iran’s acting foreign minister said last week that it would respond to the killing of Haniyeh “at the right time” in the “appropriate” way.
On Monday evening, Starmer called on all parties to “de-escalate and avoid further regional confrontation,” as a wider war was not in anyone’s “interest”.
According to the readout on the gov.uk website, the PM added: “There was a serious risk of miscalculation and now was the time for calm and careful consideration.”
Starmer also emphasised his calls for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and increasing humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The PM “raised the cases of foreign detainees in Iran,” calling for them to receive necessary medical care, too.
The two leaders agreed a constructive dialogue was needed.
Starmer said that this could only progress if Iran ceased its destabilising actions including threats against individuals in the UK – and did not continue backing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Starmer and Pezeshkian spoke for 30 minutes after the UK, France and Germany issued a joint statement calling for Iran and its allies to “stand down its ongoing threats of a military attack against Israel”.
The statement warned that Iran, which is extremely influential in the Middle East, would be held “responsible” for any upcoming attack on Israel.
The last time a British PM spoke to an Iranian president was in March 2021, when Boris Johnson spoke to Hassan Rouhani, meaning this phone call was significant in many ways.
However, by Tuesday morning, Iran had dismissed Starmer’s request, according to Iranian state media.
Pezeshkian said retaliation was a “way to stop crime” and Iran’s “legal right”.
According to Iranian state news agency Irna, the president said the West’s support for Israel encouraged it to “continue atrocities”.
“Pezeshkian stated that from the point of view of the Islamic Republic of Iran, war in any part of the world is not in the interest of any country, emphasising that a punitive response to an aggressor is a legal right of states and a way to stop crime and aggression,” Irna claimed.
The Iranian foreign ministry also rejected the call for restraint, with a spokesperson saying: “Such demands are void of political logic, in complete contradiction to the principles and rules of international law, and excessive.”
Israel has put its military on the highest alert in the meantime, and the US has warned it is preparing for a “significant set of attacks” from Iran or its proxies soon.
There’s a chance the Iranian-back Hezbollah militants in Lebanon could retaliate against Israel too, after one of its top commanders was killed in an attack on Beirut.