Last week, the RAF played its part in an international effort to intercept the missiles Iran and its proxies launched at Israel overnight on 13th April; by successfully preventing almost all of these missiles from reaching their target, the RAF contributed to efforts which saved lives in Israel and in neighbouring countries.

I was in the House of Commons last week to hear the Prime Minister’s statement. The UK Government is clear: there is no justification for Iran’s decision to launch more than 300 drones and missiles towards Israel.

This latest activity forms part of a wider pattern of malign and destabilising behaviour from Iran. All of us should be concerned about Iran’s escalating nuclear programme, its desperate coalition with Russia (providing Shaheed drones, causing so much misery for Ukrainian civilians), and its reckless use of proxies in the Middle East – including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. Since January 2022, the UK has also identified at least 15 threats emanating from Iran to the lives of UK-based individuals. This is totally unacceptable.

The UK is actively disrupting Iranian malign activity through sanctions on more than 400 Iranian individuals, entities and aligned groups for roles in weapons proliferation, regional conflicts, human rights violations, and terrorism. More than 47 Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps officials have been sanctioned since October 2022.

There will be some who question why the UK should be concerned about instability in the Middle East. The UK does have an international leadership role to play, not least as one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council. British vessels have been attacked off Yemen. But even on a domestic scale, in anticipation of Iran’s attack, we saw a surge in the price of oil, which has knock on effects here, through higher prices for fuel and consumers goods thanks to increased shipping costs – all adding pressure to the cost of living.

Through this attack, Iran has once again revealed it is intent on sowing chaos in its own backyard and further destabilising the Middle East. No one wants to see more bloodshed, and I welcome the UK's urgent work alongside the international community to stabilise the situation and prevent further escalation. I welcomed the Prime Minister’s actions to urge restraint in the region. These are dangerous times.

But I also warmly welcomed the PM's clear response to ensure the resilience and resources of our own Armed Forces as tensions rise, by uplifting the Defence budget to 2.5% of GDP over the next few years.