David Lammy warns of rising risk of full-scale regional war in Middle East

The UK foreign secretary and his French counterpart write in the Observer about their fears over Israel's escalating tensions with Iran

It's never too late for peace in the Middle East - we must break the cycle of violence

There is a rising risk of full-scale regional war" in the Middle East, the foreign secretary, David Lammy, has warned, amid frantic international efforts to calm tensions with Iran and reach a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

With the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, flying into Israel this weekend to push for a deal, Lammy has joined forces with his French counterpart, Stephane Sejourne, to warn that now is a perilous moment" for the region in the midst of widespread fears of escalation involving Tehran and allied militias in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.