Why does Britain have a key role in Israel-Iran conflict?

Britain has ordered RAF aircraft into the Middle East "for contingency support across the region".

- SEAN O'GRADY

At the G7 summit, Keir Starmer also stressed that "the constant message is de-escalate" and said he will bring whatever influence he can to encourage the entire group, and crucially the United States, to adopt such a stance.

In recent weeks, notably at the United Nations, the UK has also taken a more critical attitude towards Israel's actions, especially over the conduct of the war in Gaza, while continuing to state that Israel has a right to defend itself. How much influence Britain still has on events in the region, however, is debatable.

What does Keir Starmer want?

He is conflicted. Sir Keir certainly doesn't want to see tensions in the region escalate, with all that implies for even more geopolitical instability and the spread of the current conflicts, both in the Middle East and in Ukraine, spreading further. Like the other G7 leaders, he will also be conscious that Taiwan remains highly vulnerable to an attack by China, which could take opportunistic advantage of the chaos to reunify the Chinese nation - a top priority for Beijing.

There's also the ever-present internal instability in Syria and Iraq, in Yemen and Iran itself, and, less likely, Saudi Arabia. Economically as well as geopolitically, there's a lot at stake for a medium-sized open European economy dependent on the free passage of marine cargo through the Strait of Hormuz and on to the Suez Canal.