Watch: Foreign Secretary David Lammy warns of ‘catastrophic’ regional escalation in Middle East

Watch again as Foreign Secretary David Lammy delivered a statement on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East on Monday (28 October).

The statement followedMr Lammy’s calls with Israeli and Iran’s first ministers on Sunday (27 October).

Mr Lammy said: “The UK continues to press for de-escalation and an end to the conflicts in Lebanon and Gaza. A regional war would be catastrophic and is in no one’s interests.”

Meanwhile, protesters disrupted a speech by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a ceremony remembering the victims of Hamas’s 7 October attack on southern Israel last year.

People shouted “shame on you” and made a commotion, forcing Mr Netanyahu to stop his speech shortly after it began. The speech was broadcast live.

Meanwhile, Iran’s supreme leader said Israel’s attack “should not be exaggerated nor downplayed”, while stopping short of calling for retaliation.

The remarks from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday are the latest suggesting Iran is carefully weighing its response to the attack.