Israel’s pounding of Lebanon is ‘deeply damaging’, says UK foreign minister

FMT:

Israel’s pounding of Lebanon is ‘deeply damaging’, says UK foreign minister

Britain wants Lebanon included in the ceasefire, warning that excluding it could destabilise the entire region

Yvette Cooper said Britain can stay close to Washington while pursuing a different approach in the region. (EPA Images pic)

LONDON: British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Thursday that Israel’s pounding of Lebanon was “deeply damaging” and risked destabilising the ceasefire between the United States and Iran.

“We want to see Lebanon included in the ceasefire,” she told Times Radio. “We want it extended to cover Lebanon, because otherwise that will destabilise the whole region.”

“That escalation that we saw from Israel yesterday was deeply damaging, and we want to see an end to hostilities.”


Britain, which has faced heavy criticism from US President Donald Trump for failing to provide more support for Washington’s war on Iran, has sought to help defend its allies in the Gulf and is now working with other countries on ways to reopen the key Strait of Hormuz.

Asked about the strains with its key US ally, Cooper said it was possible for London to remain close to Washington while also taking a different approach in the region. But she said some of Trump’s rhetoric, including when he threatened to destroy Iran’s civilisation, had been dangerous.

“I think that the rhetoric that we’ve seen used has been completely wrong,” she told Sky News. “That sort of escalatory rhetoric can have escalatory consequences.”

On Wednesday, Israel launched a wave of attacks in densely populated areas across Lebanon, drawing criticism from many sides including the Red Cross, which said it was “outraged by the devastating death and destruction”.