Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves leaves 11 Downing Street ahead of the announcement of the Spending Review in the House of Commons in London, United Kingdom on June 11, 2025. [Getty]
Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announced on Sunday that the UK military could “potentially” assist Israel, adding that the government is “not ruling anything out” amid escalating tensions in the Middle East following Israel’s attack on Iran.
In an interview with Sky News, the Chancellor stated that while the UK is “not at war,” Britain’s growing military presence in the region is intended to safeguard “important assets” as the conflict between Israel and Iran intensifies alongside the ongoing war in Gaza.
Reeves reaffirmed the UK’s call for de-escalation but said the government would deploy military assets, including fighter jets, “to protect ourselves and also potentially to support our allies.”
“We do have important assets in the region,” she told Sky News.
“And it is right that we send jets to protect them. That’s what we’ve done. It’s a precautionary move, and at the same time, we are urging de-escalation.”
The Finance Minister also clarified that the UK “has not been involved in these strikes or this conflict,” amid growing international concern about a wider regional war.
Pressed on whether the UK government might deploy military assets in support of Israeli operations if requested, Reeves declined to speculate, stating that the UK would not comment on “operational decisions for the future” but claiming that Israel was “defending itself”.
“This is a fast-moving situation. Israel has every right to defend itself. We are also very concerned about Iran’s nuclear deterrent,” she said.
Reeves added: “We have, in the past, supported Israel when there have been missiles coming in. I’m not going to comment on what might happen in the future. But so far, we haven’t been involved. We’re sending in assets to protect ourselves and also potentially to support our allies.”
Her comments follow Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s announcement on Saturday, ahead of his visit to the G7 summit in Canada, that fighter jets and other military assets were being deployed to the Middle East.
However, Starmer refused to confirm whether the UK would provide direct military support to Israel- prior to Reeves’ own remarks.
“These are obviously operational decisions and the situation is ongoing and developing, so I’m not going to get into precise details. But we are moving assets- we’ve already been moving assets to the region, including jets- and that is for contingency support across the region. So that is happening,” Starmer told reporters.
The Prime Minister also declined to comment on claims that the UK had not been notified in advance of Israel’s strikes on Iran.
“I’m not going to go into what information we had at the time or since. But we discuss these matters intensely with our allies. I’m not going to get into exactly what we knew- there’s a constant flow of information between us, our allies, and the US,” he added.
Reeves and Starmer’s remarks come amid stark warnings from Tehran that the UK and its allies could see their regional bases targeted should they assist Israel in its war on Iran.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi accused Israel of crossing “a new red line in international law” by “attacking nuclear facilities”.
Iran has also alleged that major Israel ally the United States was fully complicit in the recent aerial attacks on its territory, and Araghchi claimed Tehran had “solid proof” that US military forces aided Israel in its strikes.
The UK’s support for Israel comes even as the government adopts its strongest condemnation yet of the Israeli government’s conduct in Gaza, which it has described as “egregious.”
Foreign Secretary David Lammy recently announced a suspension of free trade negotiations with Israel, a review of the 2030 Road Map for UK-Israel bilateral relations, and new sanctions targeting violent Israeli settlers and affiliated entities.
The UK continues to face increasing pressure from human rights organisations, UK-based activists, and members of Parliament over its continued licensing of arms exports to Israel.
Earlier this month, former Labour leader and now independent MP Jeremy Corbyn introduced a bill in the UK Parliament calling for an inquiry into the UK’s potential role and complicity in Israeli military operations in Gaza.