LONDON — Britain’s top diplomat urged Israel to “think with head as well as heart” as the country weighs its response to an Iranian attack this weekend.
In an interview with Times Radio Monday, Foreign Secretary David Cameron echoed U.S. President Joe Biden as he called on Israel to “take the win and then move on” to eradicating Hamas in Gaza.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed Sunday that British jets were involved in deterring the Iranian attack on Israel, which saw the country targeted with some 300 drones and missiles. It followed the killing of senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commanders on Iranian soil.
While stressing his backing for Israel, U.S. President Joe Biden has urged the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to show restraint as his government considers how to respond — an approach mirrored by Cameron Monday.
“We should first of all reflect that this was a pretty significant attack,” Cameron said Monday. “110 ballistic missiles, 36 cruise missiles, 185 drones. And so, of course, Israel has every right to respond as an independent, sovereign country being attacked in this way.
“But I think we’re very anxious to avoid escalation and to say to our friends in Israel, it’s a time to think with head as well as heart.”
Cameron, a former prime minister brought back into frontline politics by Sunak late last year, said “the smart thing to do, as well as the tough thing to do now, is actually not to escalate.”
He later told Sky News that Iran had suffered a “double defeat” by both failing to inflict damage on Israel and revealing itself as a “malign influence” in the region.
The U.K.’s main opposition Labour Party issued a similar message Monday, calling on Israel to “step back” from a position of strength.
Shadow Defense Secretary John Healey told Times Radio that “everyone in the region must now show restraint,” and said Israel had shown “it can defend itself against this unprecedented and utterly unacceptable scale of attack. So it’s in a strong position now to step back.”
The comments from top British politicians come amid increasing concern about the conflict between Iran and Israel spiraling.
A statement from G7 leaders Sunday said Iran’s actions “further stepped toward the destabilization of the region and risks provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation.”
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres meanwhile told the Security Council late Sunday night: “The Middle East is on the brink. The people of the region are confronting the real danger of a devastating full-scale conflict.”
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