The UK foreign secretary, James Cleverly, in a rare phone call with his Iranian counterpart, has underlined western warnings that Tehran must use its influence with other groups in the Middle East to prevent escalation in the Gaza conflict.
It is not clear from the readouts given by either side whether Cleverly spelled out any consequences to Iran if it was deemed to be actively stoking a wider war, or if he provided any intelligence to show that the west knew the depth of Iran’s involvement.
