Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivers a statement to the House on Iran / Israel
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00:00As we now come to the statement, I now call the Prime Minister.
00:10Mr Speaker, before I start I'd like to express my deepest sympathy, and I'm sure that of
00:17the whole House, on the death of your father. He was a true giant, not just of this House
00:23but of the other place too. I also want to express my solidarity with our Australian
00:27friends after the horrific and senseless attacks in Sydney in recent days. Our thoughts
00:32are with all those affected.
00:35Mr Speaker, on Saturday evening, Iran sought to plunge the Middle East into a new crisis.
00:40They launched a barrage of missiles and attack drones over Iraq and Jordan and towards Israel.
00:47The scale of the attack, and the fact that it was targeted directly at Israel, are without
00:53precedent. It was a reckless and dangerous escalation. If it had succeeded, the fallout
01:00for regional security and the toll on Israeli citizens would have been catastrophic. But,
01:06Mr Speaker, it did not succeed. In support of Israel's own defensive action, the United
01:13Kingdom joined a US-led international effort, along with France and partners in the region,
01:19which intercepted almost all of the missiles, saving lives in Israel and its neighbours.
01:25We sent additional RAF Typhoons to the region as part of our existing operations against
01:30Daesh in Iraq and Syria. And I can confirm our forces destroyed a number of Iranian drones.
01:38We also provided important intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support for our partners.
01:45Our pilots put themselves in harm's way to protect the innocent and preserve peace
01:50and stability. I spoke to the RAF earlier today. They are the best of the best, and
01:55I know the whole House will join me in expressing our gratitude.
02:01With this attack, Iran has once again shown its true colours. They are intent on sowing
02:07chaos in their own backyard, on further destabilising the Middle East. Our aim is to support stability
02:14and security, because it is right for the region and because, although the Middle East
02:19is thousands of miles away, it has a direct effect on our security and prosperity at home.
02:26So we are working urgently with our allies to de-escalate the situation and prevent further
02:31bloodshed. We want to see calmer heads prevail, and we are directing all our diplomatic efforts
02:38to that end.
02:40Yesterday I spoke to my fellow G7 leaders. We are united in our condemnation of this
02:45attack. We discussed further potential diplomatic measures, which we will be working together
02:52to coordinate in the coming days. I will also shortly be speaking to Prime Minister Netanyahu
02:58to express our solidarity with Israel in the face of this attack and to discuss how we
03:03can prevent further escalation. All sides must show restraint.
03:10Our action reflects our wider strategy in the Middle East, which I have set out in this
03:15House previously. I believe there are three vital steps to put the region onto a better
03:21path. First, we must uphold regional security against hostile actors, including in the Red
03:28Sea, and we must ensure Israel's security. That is non-negotiable. It is a fundamental
03:35condition for peace in the region. In the face of threats like we saw this weekend,
03:42Israel has our full support.
03:45Second, we must invest more deeply in the two-state solution. That is what we have been
03:51doing over the past six months, including working closely with the Palestinian Authority
03:56so that when the time comes, they can provide more effective governance for Gaza and the
04:01West Bank. It is significant that other regional partners actually helped to prevent a much
04:08worse attack over the weekend. It reminds us how important the attempts to normalise
04:14relations between Israel and its neighbours really are, and it holds out precious hope
04:20for the region.
04:22Third, the conflict in Gaza must end. Hamas, which is backed by Iran, started this war.
04:32They wanted not just to kill and murder, but to destabilise the whole region. This weekend,
04:39they rejected the latest hostage deal, which offered a road to a ceasefire. It is Israel's
04:46right, and indeed its duty, to defeat the threat from Hamas terrorists and defend its
04:51security.
04:52I want to be clear that nothing that has happened over the last 48 hours affects our position
04:59on Gaza. The appalling toll on civilians continues to grow—the hunger, the desperation and
05:06the loss of life on an awful scale. The whole country wants to see an end to the bloodshed
05:12and to see more humanitarian support going in. The recent increase in aid flows is positive,
05:19but it is still not enough. We need to see new crossings open for longer to get in vital
05:25supplies.
05:28I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the three British aid workers who were
05:33killed in Gaza—John Chapman, James Kirby and James Henderson. They were heroes. The
05:42children of Gaza, who they were risking their lives to feed, need a humanitarian pause immediately,
05:50leading to a long-term sustainable ceasefire. That is the fastest way to get hostages out
05:56and aid in, and to stop the fighting. Israelis and Palestinians alike deserve to live in
06:03peace, dignity and security, and so do people across the entire region.
06:09In conclusion, Saturday's attack was the act not of a people but of a despotic regime,
06:16and it is emblematic of the dangers that we face today. The links between such regimes
06:22are growing. Tel Aviv was not the only target of Iranian drones on Saturday. Putin was also
06:29launching them at Kyiv and Kharkiv. And who was the sole voice speaking up for Iran yesterday,
06:37seeking to justify their actions? Russia.
06:40The threats to stability are growing, not just in the Middle East but everywhere.
06:45We are meeting those threats time after time, with British forces at the forefront. It is why
06:52our pilots were in action this weekend. It is why they have been policing the skies above Iraq and
06:57Syria for a decade. It is why our sailors are defending the freedom of navigation in the Red
07:03Sea against the reckless attacks of the Iran-backed Houthi militia. It is why our soldiers are on the
07:09ground in Kosovo, Estonia, Poland and more. And it is why we have led the way in backing Ukraine,
07:16and will continue to back them for as long as it takes.
07:20When adversaries like Russia or Iran threaten peace and prosperity, we will always stand in
07:27their way, ready to defend our values and our interests, shoulder to shoulder with our friends
07:34and our allies. And I commend this statement to the House.