UK Embassy Staff Withdraw From Iran Over Regional Tensions

The British Embassy in Tehran previously withdrew its staff on Feb. 27, the day before the start of the U.S. war with Iran.

Traffic moves past the Iranian national flag displayed on a building at Enghelab Square in Tehran, Iran, on June 14, 2026. AFP via Getty Images

British embassy staff have withdrawn from Tehran due to regional tensions and the security situation in Iran, the British government has said.

“UK staff have been temporarily withdrawn from Iran,” the British Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) said in an updated travel advisory from July 22. “Our embassy continues to operate remotely.”

The FCDO continues to advise against British citizens traveling to Iran, adding that those already in the country “carefully consider your presence there and the risks you take by staying.”

It adds that being British or a British-Iranian dual citizen could put a person at “significant risk” of arrest, being questioned, or detained.

“Having a British passport or connections to the UK can be reason enough for the Iranian authorities to detain you,” the department said.

The British Embassy in Tehran also temporarily closed and withdraw its staff on Feb. 27, the day before joint strikes by the United States and Israel in the opening salvo of the Iran War.

British officials at the time cited the security situation in the region, with the FCDO saying its ability to assist British nationals was extremely limited and there was no in-person consular support available, even in emergencies.

Tensions had begun to rise in the days leading up to the U.S.–Israeli strikes, with several countries pulling dependents of staff and non-essential staff from diplomatic missions in the Middle East, and advising their citizens against travel to Iran.

Trump’s Warning to Iran

The decision to temporarily close the Iranian mission came after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea on July 23.

On July 20, the Houthis imposed a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in the waterway, which the group said was in response to an attack targeting the airport in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would order retaliatory military action against Iran in response to the new attacks by the Houthis.

In a July 23 Truth Social post, Trump said, “Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if they do this again, the United States will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves.”

The Houthis are a movement of Shia Muslims in Yemen that have historically aligned with Iran’s Shia clerical leadership.

They became a dominant force in Yemen after seizing the capital, Sanaa, in 2014, helping to trigger a civil war that continues to this day.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on July 23 that Trump’s policy toward Iran is “a head for an eye.” He warned that Tehran will face an increasingly heavy price, urging the regime—as well as Houthi forces—to deescalate their attacks on Middle East shipping.

“The president’s policy is ‘a head for an eye.’ I mean, honestly, that’s what it’s going to be,” Rubio told reporters on the sidelines of a summit of Southeast Asian nations in Manila, the Philippines.

His remarks came a day after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described Tehran’s defense doctrine as “an eye for an eye” and warned that any attack on Iranian infrastructure would trigger a “powerful and decisive response.”

U.S. military forces have so far conducted 12 consecutive nights of strikes against the Iranian regime, targeting military sites.

Ryan Morgan, Tom Ozimek, and Reuters contributed to this report.