Thursday, July 23, 2026

UK withdraws diplomatic staff from Iran amid escalating U.S. strikes

The FCDO advises against all travel to Iran, saying British and dual British-Iranian residents face “significant risk of arrest, questioning or detention”.

• July 23, 2026
Iran war
Iran war[Credit: NBC News]

The United Kingdom has withdrawn remaining diplomatic staff from Iran as the conflict with the U.S. continues to escalate with a 12th night of airstrikes.

The Foreign Office of the United Kingdom (FCDO) stated on their website that, “Due to the security situation, UK staff have been temporarily withdrawn from Iran. Our embassy continues to operate remotely.”

The FCDO advises against all travel to Iran, saying British and dual British-Iranian residents face “significant risk of arrest, questioning or detention”.

The United States Central Command said late on Wednesday that the 12th night of attacks was designed to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters”.

Missiles struck near the cities of Ahvaz, Ramshir and Andimeshk in western Iran, according to Iranian state media.

Kuwait’s army said on X that the country’s air defences were “confronting attacks by hostile drones, following the sinful Iranian aggression”.

President Donald Trump had warned earlier that one bridge or power plant would be destroyed for each ship shot at by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Foreign Minister of Iran, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, said Iran would adopt an “eye for an eye” approach.

“Any aggression against Iran, including our infrastructure, will compel a powerful and decisive response,” he posted on X on Wednesday.

The 11th night of strikes on Iran into Wednesday saw air defences opening fire over the capital, Tehran.

Iran launched a missile attack on a Jordanian city while alerts were sounded in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Tehran has responded to U.S. attacks by targeting energy infrastructure and desalination plants, which provide drinking water in neighbouring Gulf countries.

International law generally prohibits such attacks unless the infrastructure is being used for military purposes.

(PA Media/dpa/NAN)

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Tanker fire

States

Gas tanker catches fire in Lagos

LASEMA said the incident occurred after the tanker reportedly hit a road bump at high speed, causing the driver to lose control.

Xenophobia Attacks

Africa

Ghanaians petition ICC to probe xenophobic attacks in South Africa

The petitioners accused the South African government of not curtailing xenophobic attacks in which some African immigrants were killed.

University of Ibadan

Education

UI appoints Olapegba as 14th substantive VC

Before his latest appointment, Mr Olapegba served as UI’s deputy vice-chancellor (administration).

Police officer

States

Police nab 22 suspects, rescue two minors in Delta

The police said the suspects were arrested following a coordinated raid on identified illicit drug dens and criminal hideouts.

Nigerian Troops

States

Troops rescue 11 kidnap victims, arrest suspected terrorists, neutralise IEDs

The army said the troops of Operation HADIN KAI arrested three suspected ISWAP logistics suppliers in Borno.

Neurological disorder

Health

About 470 million people in Americas have neurological disorders: WHO Report

The study also found that age-adjusted death rates have declined since 1990, meaning more people now survive these conditions.