The Foreign Office is preparing plans to move tens of thousands of British nationals should the conflict in the Middle East intensify, leaving numerous travelers stuck in Dubai.
Officials lack exact figures on how many Britons live, vacation or travel across the Gulf, yet they note that 76,000 have so far recorded their location in the affected parts of the region.
Over 50,000 are thought to be in the United Arab Emirates, most of them holidaymakers or other visitors rather than residents, as Dubai serves as a key leisure and commercial hub. The emirate’s airspace is presently shut, leaving visitors without a clear route home.
The British government advises people to obey local directives, particularly those urging them to remain sheltered where they are.
Nevertheless, the situation remains fluid and Whitehall contacts say officials are reviewing every option, including evacuations by alternative routes if the skies stay closed and hostilities rise. One scenario involves moving people by road to neighboring states with open airspace, for example Saudi Arabia.
The Ministry of Defence is cooperating with the Foreign Office on these options as part of an unprecedented consular effort that registers individuals across several nations to pinpoint those requiring assistance.
The Foreign Office advises against any travel to Iran, Israel and Palestine. It also recommends limiting journeys to the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain to essential purposes only, and adds warnings against visiting certain areas of Pakistan.
Britons in Saudi Arabia are urged to remain at home, while those in Jordan, Oman, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq are advised to take precautions amid rising regional tensions.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is slated to deliver her initial comments on the developing crisis on Monday, after a weekend spent shaping the response.
She has been involved in an intensive diplomatic drive, holding talks with regional counterparts, the U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio, and other G7 foreign ministers.
On Sunday, Keir Starmer voiced “solidarity” with Middle Eastern nations confronting “indiscriminate” fire from Iran during conversations with the leaders of Bahrain and Cyprus.
Downing Street has declined to comment on whether Britain backs the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, yet Defence Secretary John Healey remarked on Sunday morning that few will mourn Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the attack.
Healey labelled the Iranian regime “evil,” claiming it has threatened the West by backing at least twenty terrorist schemes targeting the UK and by taking part in proxy conflicts.
When asked about the legality of the strikes, he replied that “it is for the United States to outline and justify” its actions. He also declined to discuss whether Britain permitted the use of its military bases for the attacks.
Read next
Three evacuees leave hantavirus-hit cruise ship as Spain confirms docking in Canary Islands despite protests
Three individuals suspected of having hantavirus, among them a British doctor, have been evacuated from the cruise ship associated with the outbreak. The evacuation permits the vessel, carrying roughly 150 passengers, to resume its three‑day voyage to the Canary Islands after Spanish officials granted permission to dock. Since the
Pussy Riot demonstration shuts down Russian pavilion at Venice Biennale
The Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale was forced to close its doors temporarily on the second day of the preview after the activist collective Pussy Riot staged a disorderly demonstration opposing Russia’s participation in the art festival.
Dressed in pink balaclavas, the protesters rushed to the pavilion, gathered
Giorgia Meloni urges public to think before sharing after AI-generated lingerie photo of her spreads online.
Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has spoken out against the spread of AI‑generated deepfake images of her, one of which shows her in lingerie, after the pictures were shared widely online.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Meloni wrote: “Over the past few days several fabricated pictures of