UK to chair UN Security Council amid reports Iran’s leader has been killed

Britain is chairing an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Saturday following missile strikes across the Middle East.

The meeting has been called at the request of France, Colombia, Russia and Bahrain after the US and Israel struck Iran on Saturday morning.

The attacks, which hit targets in Tehran and across the country, prompted retaliation from Iran with strikes reported in several Gulf countries including the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Saturday is the last day that the UK holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council before handing over to the United States.

The meeting began around 9pm UK time, with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres telling the council: “We are witnessing a grave threat to international peace and security.

“Military action carries the risk of igniting a chain of events that no-one can control in the most volatile region of the world.

“Let me be clear, there is no viable alternative to the peaceful settlement of international disputes. Lasting peace can only be achieved through peaceful means, including genuine dialog and negotiations.”

Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports suggested Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei may have been killed in the US-Israeli strikes, with pictures showing severe damage to his compound in Tehran.

The US and Israel described the attacks as a “pre-emptive” strike against a Tehran government intent on developing nuclear weapons.

Talks between the US and Iran aimed at resolving the issue of Tehran’s nuclear ambitions ended on Thursday without agreement, but were expected to resume at a later date.

Following the strikes, Sir Keir Starmer convened the Government’s emergency Cobra committee on Saturday morning, before consulting with European and Gulf allies.

Later on Saturday, Sir Keir spoke to US President Donald Trump to discuss the situation and set out the UK’s role in defensive operations in the region.

In a joint statement with the leaders of France and Germany, the Prime Minister condemned Iran’s retaliation and urged Tehran to “refrain from indiscriminate military strikes” and “seek a negotiated solution”.

Speaking from Downing Street, Sir Keir said the UK had not been involved in the strikes, but had subsequently deployed aircraft “as part of co-ordinated regional defensive operations to protect our people, our interests and our allies”.

He added that protections had been stepped up for British bases in the Middle East and the Government was “reaching out to UK nationals in the region and doing everything we can to support them”.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has advised UK nationals in some parts of the Middle East to “shelter in place”.

The advice extends to Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, where a fire has broken out at the luxury Fairmont Hotel in Dubai’s Palm area – something Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper condemned in a call with her Emirati counterpart.

Hundreds of thousands of British nationals are currently thought to be present in the Gulf.

The Foreign Office has encouraged British nationals in Bahrain, Israel, Palestine, Qatar and the UAE to register their presence online with the UK Government to receive updates on the security situation.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she supported the strikes on Iran, describing the Tehran government as a “vile regime” that “carries out attacks on the UK and on our citizens”, sought to build nuclear weapons and “brutally repressed pro-democracy protests only months ago and murdered thousands of its own people”.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey urged the Prime Minister to rule out allowing British bases to be used for “future unilateral US strikes”.

He said: “The Iranian people deserve to live free from a brutal regime. Donald Trump’s unilateral and illegal military action won’t deliver freedom, peace and security. It will only unleash more bloodshed.”

But Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said Sir Keir should “change his mind” and allow the US to launch attacks from British bases, including Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands.

The Government is reported to have previously refused American requests to use the Diego Garcia base to attack Iran due to concerns it would breach international law.

Senior Labour MP Dame Emily Thornberry, chairwoman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, told the Press Association there was “no legal basis for this attack”.