Middle East situation ‘perilous', says Lammy amid calls for more talks

David Lammy flew from Washington to Geneva on Friday to meet Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi alongside his French and German counterparts as the UK continued to press for a diplomatic solution to the Middle East crisis.
The talks followed US President Donald Trump's announcement that he would delay a decision on joining Israeli strikes against Iran for up to two weeks.
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Lammy told reporters: 'It is still clear to me, as President Trump indicated yesterday, that there is a window of within two weeks where we can see a diplomatic solution.'
Urging Iran to 'take that off ramp' and talk to the Americans, he said: 'We have a window of time. This is perilous and deadly serious.'
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi speaking to the media after the Iran-EU meeting in Geneva (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)
He added that the US and Europe were pushing for Iran to agree to zero enrichment of uranium as a 'starting point' for negotiations.
But Mr Araghchi said Iran would not negotiate with the US as long as Israel continued to carry out airstrikes against the country, and insisted his country's nuclear programme was entirely peaceful.
Both sides continued to exchange fire on Friday, with Iranian missiles targeting the city of Haifa while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tel Aviv's military operation would continue 'for as long as it takes'.
Meanwhile, the UK Government has announced it will use charter flights to evacuate Britons stranded in Israel once the country's airspace reopens.
Mr Lammy said work is under way to provide the flights 'based on levels of demand' from UK citizens who want to leave the region.
The move follows criticism of the Foreign Office's initial response, which saw family members of embassy staff evacuated while UK citizens were not advised to leave and told to follow local guidance.
The Government said the move to withdraw temporarily family members had been a 'precautionary measure'.
On Friday, the Foreign Office announced that UK staff had also been evacuated from Iran, with the embassy continuing to operate remotely.
But the Government continues to advise British nationals in the region to follow local advice, rather than urging them to leave.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

NBC News

16 minutes ago

• NBC News

Israel-Iran conflict: Fresh attacks as Trump sets two-week deadline for U.S. action

What we know NEW WAVE OF STRIKES: Israel and Iran continued to exchange strikes today, a week into their war. Israel's military said it targeted areas in western Iran, while a building was hit in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba. EUROPE-IRAN TALKS: Iranian Foreign MinisterAbbas Araghchi will be in the Swiss city of Geneva today for talks with his British, French, German and E.U. counterparts in an effort to end the conflict. The U.S. envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will not attend. TRUMP CONSIDERS U.S. ACTION: President Donald Trump said he was still considering a U.S. military strike on Iran's nuclear sites. 'I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,' he said yesterday, according to the White House. HUNDREDS KILLED: Israeli strikes have killed at least 639 people in Iran since the conflict began a week ago, The Associated Press reported, citing a Washington-based human rights group. The Iranian health ministry says more than 2,500 people have been wounded. The death toll in Israel from Iran's retaliatory strikes remains at 24.

Daily Record

35 minutes ago

• Daily Record

Fergus Ewing would have won SNP Inverness and Nairn selection contest 'by a landslide' claim party insiders

EXCLUSIVE: Party insiders said the veteran Nationalist would have beaten Emma Roddick in the internal vote. Fergus Ewing would have won the SNP candidate selection contest for Inverness and Nairn if he had stood, party figures have said. The veteran Nationalist announced on Friday that he would stand as an independent at next year's Holyrood election. ‌ Ewing will go up against current Highlands and Islands MSP Emma Roddick - who won the SNP contest. ‌ He has been the MSP for Inverness and Nairn since the Scottish Parliament returned in 1999 and was a minister for 14 years under Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon. A Holyrood SNP source said: "If Fergus stood for the SNP in Inverness and Nairn he'd have won the selection contest by a landslide." A second insider said: "It's well known Emma put all her focus into her plans to challenge Fergus, while Fergus used his platform to give a voice to his constituents so fair play to him for giving folk in Inverness a proper option. "There was a lot of talk about whether Fergus should pass SNP vetting and perhaps there should have been more of a focus on the suitability of the current SNP candidate for Inverness.' A third source also said that Ewing would have won the selection contest. Ewing has been a vocal critic of the Scottish Government and was particularly damning about the coalition agreement with the Greens. ‌ He spoke out against the deposit return scheme, gender reform, marine protected areas and what he said was a lack of support for the oil and gas industry. He defied the party whip to back a vote of no confidence in then-Green minister Lorna Slater in 2023. This resulted in him being temporarily suspended from the SNP Holyrood group. Ewing had confirmed in March that he would not stand for the SNP - blaming the Scottish Government's failure to dual the A9 and A96 roads. ‌ On Friday he said he would stand against the SNP next year: "This has not been an easy decision. I have taken it because I love the people of Inverness and Nairn and the people of Scotland more than my party, which I have been in for more than half a century." He said the Nationalists had "deserted many of the people whose causes we used to champion". He added: "I believe the SNP has lost its way and that devolution itself – presently - is letting Scotland's people down. It doesn't need to be this way. ‌ " Holyrood is more fractious and tribal than ever before. "Too much power rests unchecked in the hands of party leaders, free to choose candidates who will slavishly support them, rather than stand up for the people who sent them to Holyrood. Choosing the pliant over the talented." ‌ Fergus Ewing is the son of SNP legend Winnie Ewing, whose win in the 1967 Hamilton by-election was a historic breakthrough for the party. His sister Annabelle Ewing is the SNP MSP for Cowdenbeath. Labour candidate for Inverness and Nairn Shaun Fraser said: " Fergus has rightfully earned respect for calling out the failures of SNP government and the policies and priorities which have done so much damage to the Highlands and Islands. ‌ "The breakdown in his relationship with his party highlights again that the SNP has no concern for the Highlands." Roddick said: "Local members backed me overwhelmingly in the selection contest for Inverness and Nairn. "I have always stood up for the Highlands and spoken out on issues that affect all of us who live here; I've never been shy about doing so. ‌ "I am SNP because I share our principles and belief in Scotland - that, as an independent country, we can best serve the people I represent and work hard for every day. "That's why I have the backing of the local party, and I look forward to putting our positive vision across during the campaign." The SNP was approached for comment.

The Herald Scotland

an hour ago

• The Herald Scotland

Trump approval rating tanks as Americans oppose GOP agenda

It's summer now, and the report card has arrived. Americans give Trump a failing grade on the budget, trade and immigration. That's tough to swallow for a politician who gauges everything on public perception. Trump, being Trump, is now pivoting to distractions, touting a military parade that flopped as an expensive boondoggle and then flipping from diplomacy with Iran to potentially ordering air strikes on that country. Take our poll: Should US go to war with Iran or support Israel from afar? | Opinion Americans disapprove of budget bill slashing Medicaid Let's start with Trump's budget, which Republican leaders in Congress call the "one big, beautiful bill" in honor of their continuing deference to whatever he wants and the dereliction of their duty to serve as a coequal branch of our government. The version that narrowly passed the House slashed federal safety net programs to boost tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Some senators, seeking to make things even better for the rich at the expense of the poor, want bigger cuts to Medicaid, food stamps and other programs. Opinion: Trump lied about the LA protests so you wouldn't see what he's really doing A batch of recent polls shows Americans reject that: A June 11 Quinnipiac University poll found that 53% of American voters oppose the budget bill, while 27% approve it. Nearly half of the voters polled said funding for Medicaid should go up, not down, while 40% said it should stay the same and just 10% wanted it cut. A June 16 Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that 50% of Americans think we spend too little on Medicaid, while 31% say we spend enough and just 18% say we spend too much. Forty-five percent of Americans think we should spend more on food and nutrition assistance, while 30% say we spend enough and 24% say we spend too much. A June 17 KFF Health Tracking Poll found that 64% of Americans hold an unfavorable view of Trump's budget bill, while 83% of them hold a favorable view of Medicaid. Republican support for the bill came in strong at 61% at first, but then dropped by 20 points when the Republicans polled heard details about how the legislation would force millions off their health care plans. Polling finds Americans disagree with Trump on immigration, economy, border security This much seems clear: The more Americans learn about Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the more they find it small-minded and ugly. That explains the artificial deadlines. Opinion newsletter: Sign up for our newsletter on people, power and policies in the time of Trump from columnist Chris Brennan. Get it delivered to your inbox. Trump and his Republican allies in Congress want to wrap this up by July 4. But Republican infighting - moderates who fear it goes too far, far-righters who complain it doesn't go far enough - will make for a contentious Congress for at least the next two weeks. While we wait, Trump is seeing his support on immigration - once his strongest issue - melt away in the summer of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. The Quinnipiac University poll found 54% of the registered voters surveyed opposed his approach to immigration, while 43% approve and 3% had no opinion. Trump campaigned in 2024 on reviving America's economy. But his trade wars, which have hit our country's international allies just as hard or harder than our geopolitical foes, are unpopular. Quinnipiac found that just 38% approve of Trump's trade policy, while 57% disapprove and 6% had no opinion. The AP-NORC poll found that 32% of Americans think we spend too much on border security, while 37% think we spend the right amount and 29% think we spend too little. Trump's approval rating continues to tank. Does it matter? In this time of divisiveness, a majority of Americans can agree on one thing: Trump is disappointing them as president. Just 38% of the votes surveyed by Quinnipiac approve of Trump's job performance, while 54% disapprove. Opinion: Threats against judges nearly doubled under Trump. Republicans blame the victim. That tracks with a Pew Research Center poll released June 17, which found that 41% of those polled approve of Trump's performance while 58% disapprove. Pew noted that Trump has lost ground in his approval rating since he was sworn into office again on Jan. 20. Don't expect Trump to spend too much time worrying about what Americans tell pollsters. He has a long history of touting polls when they hold good news for him and dismissing them when they don't. He also suggested just before the 2024 election that releasing poll results he didn't like "should be illegal." Here's what you can expect: more distractions from Trump as the Republicans fights it out on which version of his budget bill passes or fails in Congress. If they listened to Americans, they would kill the bill and start from scratch. Follow USA TODAY columnist Chris Brennan on X, formerly known as Twitter: @ByChrisBrennan. Sign up for his weekly newsletter, Translating Politics, here.