LONDON — The British government moved to pull its staff out of Iran Friday, as conflict between Israel and Tehran continues.
“Due to the current security situation, we have taken the precautionary measure to temporarily withdraw our U.K. staff from Iran. Our embassy continues to operate remotely,” a statement from the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said Friday.
They added: “We take the protection of our staff and British nationals extremely seriously and we have long advised against all travel to Iran.”
The government stressed that it did not reflect a perceived change to the current situation with Israel and Iran.
The move came as the U.K. — which has been urging the Trump administration to focus on negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program rather than joining Israel’s military offensive — announced plans for charter flights to evacuate British nationals from the Israeli capital.
“The UK will provide charter flights for British nationals from Tel Aviv when airspace reopens,” said Foreign Secretary David Lammy in a post on X.
“Register your presence to receive further guidance. Flights will be available based on the level of demand. The safety of British nationals remains our top priority.”
Lammy held talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio Thursday about the situation. Whitehall officials told POLITICO the foreign secretary was confident Trump would prefer a deal over military action.
On Friday, Lammy, along with French and German foreign ministers, held talks with their Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Geneva. Lammy insisted “a window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution” after Trump said he would decide whether to launch military action against Iran in the next fortnight.
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