Cooper speaks to Rubio as US threatens ‘most intense day’ of Iran war

The Foreign Secretary has emphasised “close co-ordination” on Middle Eastern security in a call with her US counterpart as Washington threatened its “most intense day” of strikes on Iran.

Yvette Cooper’s conversation with US secretary of state Marco Rubio on Tuesday evening came after American B1 bombers were seen taking off from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and explosions were reported in Tehran.

A spokesman for Mr Rubio said the pair had “underscored the importance of continued close co-ordination on the security of the broader Middle East”.

While the UK has not struck Iran directly, Sir Keir Starmer has previously granted an American request to use RAF Fairford and the British base on Diego Garcia to strike Iranian missile sites threatening other countries in the region.

Earlier on Tuesday, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said the day would bring “our most intense day of strikes inside Iran: the most fighters, the most bombers, the most strikes”.

He also said the previous 24 hours had seen Iran fire the lowest amount of missiles it had launched since the crisis began.

Iranian strikes continued to hit the country’s neighbours on Tuesday, including Bahrain and the UAE.

UK forces continue to engage in defensive operations in the region, with the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon currently en route to the eastern Mediterranean to assist in protecting Cyprus.

The ship, which left Portsmouth a week after its deployment was announced, is capable of shooting down drones and ballistic missiles fired by Iran and its proxies as the Middle East crisis continues.

The Government has also announced it is preparing a second vessel, the landing ship RFA Lyme Bay, for potential deployment if the crisis deepens.

Domestic concern remained focused on the impact of the cost of living, as the conflict continued to restrict shipping through the Strait of Hormuz – a vital route for oil and gas supplies.

Markets calmed after US President Donald Trump suggested the military action would be a “short-term excursion” rather than a more prolonged war and threatened “death, fire and fury” against Iran unless vessels were allowed through the strait.

But nervousness around the potential impact of higher energy costs still lingered.

The UK’s budget watchdog warned inflation this year could be higher than it had previously estimated, reaching almost 3% rather than the expected 2%.

Meanwhile, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood banned the pro-Palestinian Al Quds march that had been planned in London on Sunday, saying that doing so was necessary “to prevent serious public disorder” given the context of the war in the Middle East.

A spokesman for the organisers told the BBC’s The World Tonight that it was “a sad day for freedom of expression”, adding: “This demonstration has taken place for the last 40 years peacefully.”

MPs from both Labour and the Conservatives had called for the march to be banned over claims it includes support for the Tehran regime and antisemitism.