London, Thanasis Gavos

Meetings with him President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El Sisi and with the President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas had o UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Cairothe last stop of his two-day trip to Middle East.

This was preceded by meetings with the leaders of Israel, Saudi Arabia and Qatar in Jerusalem and Riyadh.

In all the meetings, Mr. Sunak stressed the importance of preventing the escalation and diffusion of tension in the region, as well as the urgent need to get humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

Besides, as it became known, British Foreign Minister James Cleverley will return on Saturday to Cairo, which he also visited during the week, to participate in the international peace meeting on Gaza.

In London, meanwhile, Iran’s charge d’affaires Seyed Mehdi Hosseini Marin said Tehran had not condemned the deadly Hamas attack on Israel because it was a “justified and legitimate act of self-defence”.

He called on Britain and other Western powers to put pressure on Israel to stop attacks on Gaza, adding that Iran does not want an escalation of violence and that it will react according to developments.