Prime Minister Theresa May condemned Iran’s attack on Israel and strongly supported Israel’s right to self-defence, in a phone call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister condemned the Iranian rocket attacks against Israeli forces, and said we strongly support Israel’s right to defend itself against Iranian aggression”.
The statement added: “The Prime Minister noted our statement calling on Iran to refrain from any further attacks, and for calm on all sides”.
Number 10 called for peace and also pressed Russia to use its influence in Syria to restrain from Iranian violence.
Click here to read the statement in full.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson also condemned the Iranian attack in the “strongest terms”.
The UK was joined by the US and the EU in supporting Israel’s right to defend its citizens from attack.
Israel retaliated with strikes against more than 70 Iranian sites for military training, Iranian Revolution Guard Corps intelligence collection and logistics, rocket firing positions, airfield positions and weapons storage facilities.
Out of the 20 rockets launched at Israel, four were shot down by the Iron Dome missile defence system and the other 16 landed in Syrian territory.
Avigdor Lieberman, Israeli defence minister, said the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) had “hit almost all of the Iranian infrastructure in Syria”, but asserted Israel had “no interest in escalation” of the situation.
