Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman asks the prime minister why the UK isn't proscribing Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) a terrorist organisation.

On Saturday night, the IRGC said it had launched the drones and missiles towards Israel.

Sunak says Braverman knows he won't comment on potential proscription decisions.

The prime minister adds that the UK government recognises the threat posed by Iran and has taken measures to counter it at home and around the world.

He says he's satisfied that the UK's security services have the tools they need to mitigate the threat from Iran.

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey condemns Iran's attack as an "alarming escalation" in a conflict that has "already seen far too many deaths and suffering".

He says his party supports the action taken by the RAF to intercept Iranian drones "as we stand up for Israel's security".

But he says his party also worries about what Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government will do next.

Davey says Sunak is right to say further escalation must be prevented, and asks the prime minister if he agrees the best way to achieve that is to press all sides to "agree to an immediate, bilateral ceasefire in Gaza", get the hostages home, get aid in, and "put us on the path to a lasting peace", and a two-state solution.

Sunak says he has repeatedly called for an immediate humanitarian pause to act as the foundation for a sustainable ceasefire, but says it is worth pointing out that "Hamas have yet again rejected another offer to release hostages".

Nerves in UK government as Israel plans next movepublished at 16:09 British Summer Time 15 April

16:09 BST 15 April

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

The prime minister has two main aims in giving his statement in the House of Commons.

One is to condemn Iran’s attack on Israel and to explain the UK’s strategy in agreeing to shoot down Iranian drones.

The other is to call for restraint as Israel considers retaliation. There is a nervousness in government as Westminster watches for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s next move.

Political opposition to the UK’s military involvement this weekend is fairly muted. Labour and the Scottish National Party have asked Rishi Sunak to back an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as a way to reduce tensions in the region. The Liberal Democrats’ leader Ed Davey agreed with those calls and has previously said there should be a retrospective vote on the military action (although he said the Lib Dems would support it).

However, we are expecting George Galloway - the left-wing firebrand MP recently elected in Rochdale - to speak in response to Sunak’s statement. He has a track record of criticising Western military action in the Middle East.

So while political opposition may be muted, it won’t be entirely absent and Sunak will have to defend his decision to authorise the RAF to shoot down Iranian drones.

Mhairi Black from the SNP brings up the "violent acts of Israel" in Gaza, and says "there must be a political and diplomatic solution" to conflict in the Middle East.

She asks the PM to outline what he's doing to ensure that the UN Security Council mandated call for ceasefire becomes a reality.

Sunak responds: "It is important not to try to draw any equivalence between Israel's absolute right and the duty to provide security for its citizens, and what happened over the weekend."

"We repeatedly urge Israel to abide by the international law. Our diplomatic efforts are aimed towards alleviating suffering in Gaza."

Conservative MP Alicia Kearns asks the prime minister whether he will commit to launch "a new consensus on Iran with our allies, and a new effort with combined diplomatic, military and wider expert areas to limit the extent of the atrocities of Iran".

She tells Sunak that we must deal with threats from Iran as one.

Sunak replies that he can give that commitment and it was the subject of discussions yesterday among other G7 leaders.

He says Iran's nuclear programme has "never been more advanced" than it is today.

The UK is committed to using all diplomatic tools available, Sunak adds, to ensure that Iran never develops a nuclear weapon.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has given a statement to Parliament about Britain's role in helping repel an Iranian missile and drone attack on Israel over the weekend.

Watch what he had to say in the clip above.

In reply, Sunak welcomes Starmer's support of the government's stance.

He says G7 leaders spoke yesterday and agreed to coordinate actions to "counter the Iranian regime and its proxies". He adds that an announcement with details will come "at the appropriate time".

Over 400 Iranian individuals have been sanctioned, Sunak says, including the entire Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and there are new powers, such as a new sanctions regime and national security act, to give the UK government further powers to designate sanctions and combat foreign interference.

Sunak says Iran is isolated on the world stage and urges Israel to "take the win at this point and avoid further escalation and bloodshed".

"We are absolutely committed to a two-state solution" he says, and says the government is working hard to bring that about.

Starmer says it is right to condemn Iran's action, to work with others to defend the security of allies, and to seek the end of conflict in Gaza.

"But this is a moment for restraint, because escalation will only lead to further destruction.

"And for the sake of all those still caught in the horror and violence, that must be avoided."

Image source, UK Parliament

Starmer says Iran's response was a further step towards the destabilisation of the region and raised risk of escalation.

"This is a regime that sponsors terror across the Middle East and beyond," he adds.

He asks if the prime minister is taking any new steps "with our international partners to pursue sanctions against the regime".

"Whilst there is no justification to Iran's actions, we cannot be naive to the fact that one of the drivers of tension in the region is the ongoing war in Gaza," Starmer says.

"I urge the government to use every ounce of diplomatic leverage we have to make sure the aid to Gaza is drastically scaled up, and for a return to a diplomatic process for a two-state solution."

Keir Starmer says escalation is not inevitable, and in repelling the attack, Israel showed "strength and courage". He adds that Israel must now show the same strength and courage to deescalate tensions in the Middle East.

"We must proceed calmly, carefully and with restraint," he says.

In reference to an earlier strike on Iran's consulate in Syria, to which Tehran says it was responding to with its attack on Israel on Saturday, Starmer says it is a "point of principle" that "diplomatic premises should not be targeted and attacked".

But Starmer adds: "Iran's response this weekend was unprecedented, a further step towards the destabilisation of the region."

Starmer says the attack perpetrated by Iran has left the world a more dangerous place.

He says it targeted innocent civilians with a clear intent to destabilise the region.

"It must be wholly condemned by all," Starmer says.

He adds that a full scale conflict in the Middle East is in no-one's interest and that it's a path that can only lead to more bloodshed and instability.

Image source, UK Parliament

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is now up and responding for the opposition.

He says his party supports the "defensive action taken by the UK over the weekend", alongside allies, against the Iranian attack on Israel.

"We welcome the prime minister's call for restraint", he says, paying tribute to the UK armed forces.

He says he supports the RAF planes being sent to the region, adding that "their efforts are vital for a safer world".

Sunak says Saturday's attack was that of a "despotic regime".

"Tel Aviv was not the only target of drones on Saturday, Putin was also launching them at Kyiv and Kharkiv," he says, reminding Parliament of the war in Ukraine.

Sunak says Russia has been speaking up for Iran to "justify their own actions".

"The threats to stability are growing not just in the Middle East but everywhere and we're meeting those threats time after time, with British forces at the forefront."

"That's why our pilots were in action this weekend, they were policing in the skies above Iran and Syria for a decade, our sailors in the Red Sea against the reckless attacks of the Iran-backed Houthi militia."

Rishi Sunak moves on to pay tribute to the three British aid workers who were killed in Gaza, naming them as John Chapman, James Kirby and James Henderson.

"They were heroes," Sunak says, adding that the children of Gaza who they were helping to feed "need a humanitarian pause immediately, leading to a long-term sustainable ceasefire".

Sunak says that is the "fastest way" to get Israeli hostages out of Gaza, and aid into the enclave.

Sunak says there are three vital steps to put the Middle East on a "better path".

First, he says regional security must be upheld, including in the Red Sea. He says Israel's security is non-negotiable and reiterates that Israel has the UK's full support.

Secondly, the UK must invest more deeply in the two-state solution, he says, adding that the government has been working closely with the Palestinian Authority so that when the time comes, "they can provide more effective governance for Gaza and the West Bank".

Thirdly, Sunak says, the conflict in Gaza must end.

Image source, UK Parliament

Sunak says he will shortly be speaking with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "to express our solidarity with Israel in the face of this attack and to discuss how we can prevent further escalation".

He adds that all sides "must show restraint".

"With this attack Iran has once again has showed its true colours," Sunak continues, saying that Iran intends on chaos on their own backyard, on further destabilising the Middle East.

"Our aim is to support stability and security, because it is right for the region and it has a direct effect on our security," Sunak says, adding that even though Middle East is thousands of miles away.

"We're working urgently with allies on de-escalation and to prevent further bloodshed. We want to see calmer heads," he says.

Sunak also reminds Parliament that G7 countries are united in their condemnation.

Image source, UK Parliament

Sunak says the fallout in the Middle East, had Iran succeeded with its attack on Israel, would have been "catastrophic".

The PM says the pilots who intercepted the attacks and risked their lives and he commends the RAF for its role in assisting a US-led operation to deter the Iranian attacks.

He says British forces were able to destroy drones and together they were able to intercept almost all of the missiles. Sunak says UK forces were also able to provide surveillance information to allies.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is making a statement to the House of Commons on the Iran attack.

He describes it as a "reckless and dangerous escalation", and that the barrage of missiles and drones were launched "without precedent".

He says Iran sought to plunge the Middle East into a new crisis.

Just before Sunak began speaking, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said Labour strongly condemns Iran's attack and has asked the Home Secretary if it was now time to ban the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the UK.

She pointed to issues domestically including the stabbing of Iranian International journalist in west London in March.

Home Secretary James Cleverly said the government keeps its response to Iran "consistently under review and the IRGC is sanctioned in its entirety".