Reactions to Iran's attack on US base: Escalation not needed, return to diplomacy

(Patria) - British Minister of Armed Forces Luke Pollard addressed the Iranian attack on the US base in Qatar tonight.

Speaking earlier in the House of Commons, he said it was a "rapidly changing situation" and that the government was "closely monitoring developments".

"MPs will also understand that at this stage I cannot provide details. However, the British government fully condemns any escalation," he added.

Pollard said that the United Kingdom has raised the protection measures for its personnel in the Middle East region to the "highest level". According to him, additional RAF aircraft have arrived in the Middle East, and the possibility of sending additional capacities if necessary is not excluded.

"We have strong measures to protect our military personnel, and their safety is our absolute priority," he said. "That is why we are calling for de-escalation and diplomacy."

He reiterated the call for the Prime Minister of Iran to return to the negotiating table, emphasizing that military retaliation will not end the crisis.

"The only way out for Iran is to take it seriously and return to diplomacy."

French President Emmanuel Macron called for a return to diplomacy to end what he called a "spiral of chaos" in a post on social network X.

Before Macron's post on X, Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot told France 2 television that the missile attacks, which caused no casualties, were a "dangerous escalation" and called on all parties to exercise restraint.