UPDATE - 'Significant escalation is not in anyone's interest' in Middle East, says UK premier

ADDS MORE REMARKS, DETAILS

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - The British prime minister on Friday said "significant escalation is not in anyone's interest" in the Middle East, adding that they want to see "calm heads prevail."

Rishi Sunak's remarks came during his address at an event in London after a reported Israeli attack on Iran as sounds of heavy explosions were heard in at least two Iranian cities in the wee hours of Friday morning amid an alleged Israeli attack inside Iran.

Asked about his response to the reported Israeli strikes to Iran, Rishi Sunak said it is a developing situation, so it "wouldn't be right for me to speculate until the facts become clearer.”

"We are working to confirm the details together with allies," noted the British premier.

Reiterating that Britain has condemned Iran's Saturday retaliatory attacks against Israel, he said Israel "absolutely has the right to self-defense."

"But as I said to (Israeli) Prime Minister Netanyahu when I spoke to him last week, and more generally, significant escalation is not in anyone's interest," noted Sunak.

He added: "What we want to see is calm heads prevail across the region."

The explosions in Iran came amid heightened tensions between arch-foes Iran and Israel after Saturday’s unprecedented attack by Tehran involving hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel, which Iran said was in response to the April 1 attack on the Iranian Consulate in Syria.

Israel has vowed a military response to the Iranian weekend attack despite many Western countries urging restraint and de-escalation of tensions.

On Thursday, the UK announced that in a coordinated package with the US, they have imposed fresh sanctions on top Iranian military officials, including the Armed Forces General Staff.