Donald Trump’s closest ally in the UK, Nigel Farage, has demanded that the UK allows the use of RAF bases to attack Iran.

Keir Starmer had blocked a requestion from the Trump administration to launch attacks from the sovereign bases in Cyprus.

The decision had already exacerbated tension between the two governments and was blamed for Trump withdrawing his support for the handover of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

But in a post on X, Mr Farage said: "The Prime Minister needs to change his mind on the use of our military bases and back the Americans in this vital fight against Iran!”

Our political editor David Maddox writes:

It is beginning to feel like a long time ago when Keir Starmer’s calling card on the international stage was his reputation as “the Trump whisperer” with other world leaders.

The row over Starmer’s plan to hand Mauritius the Chagos Islands with its crucial UK/ US airbase, and problems with US tariffs had been making things difficult already.

But the strikes on Iran by the Trump administration is the point of no return according to some Washington sources.

The UK has refused permission for the Americans to use RAF bases for the attacks which it sees as illegal in international law.

In return the Trump administration now sees the UK government as siding with an atrocious Islamist regime which sponsors terror and they believe recently killed up 200,000 of its own people who were protesting for freedom.

Trump does not forgive easily and Starmer, for all the criticisms about him, firmly stands up for international law. There seems to be no middle ground where they can meet.

Much will now depend on King Charles’ visit to the White House in July to rebuild bridges.

German foreign minister Johann Wadephul was the first foreign minister to be informed on Saturday morning by his Israeli counterpart about the imminent start of military operations against Iran, a German foreign ministry official said on Saturday.

"He then began to inform his colleagues in the region and to coordinate and take further precautionary measures," said the official.

Thousands of British passengers are affected by the Qatari airspace closure.

Dozens of Qatar Airways flights have diverted or flown back to their starting points.

Flights from Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester, Dublin and Heathrow have all returned to their starting points.

Inbound flights from Colombo and Dhaka have landed at Muscat in Oman. The inbound flight from Chicago is in Cairo, while the service from Boston landed in Athens.

Many Qatar Airways flights from continental European airports have also returned to their starting points, including the departures from Berlin, Brussels, Zürich, Vienna, Warsaw, Barcelona, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Düsseldorf, Brussels, Paris, Milan and Madrid.

Our chief international correspondent Bel Trew reports:

The Israeli military did not confirm how long the operation would last or who exactly had hit but hinted at a lengthy campaign, adding that it would go on “for as long as necessary — we have our goals to achieve.”

An Israeli military official told reporters that they had carried out “dozens of strikes against military targets across Iran”, including “high-profile individuals who are involved in the plan to destroy Israel”, but did not comment on whether the targets included Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei himself, as reported by Israeli media.

They said call up order had been sent to approximately 70,000 reservists across the country, mostly for aerial defence and Home Front Command.

Meanwhile, reinforcements to “brigade-level combat teams” have been deployed along all borders, including those with Syria and Lebanon.

The official said the decision to go ahead with the long-anticipated joint US-Iranian strikes came after “weeks” of planning and close coordination with the US, following what they described as a significant uptick in Iran’s production of ballistic missiles in recent months.

“We went after targets that are relevant for freedom of operation and high-profile individuals who are involved in the plan to destroy Israel. I won’t go into more details than that,” the official said.

The official estimated Iran’s stockpile of missiles to be in the “low thousands”, and added that despite the US and Israel “being able to diminish” its ballistic missile capabilities with strikes across Iran last year, the Iranian government had since been “doing everything they can to rearm”.

“They are developing dozens of ballistic missiles each month, and their pace of production is getting faster and faster. This is a regime that is moving towards producing thousands of missiles in the coming years - a dramatic expansion of an already dangerous arsenal,” the Israeli official added.

The official added that Iran was also moving ahead with its nuclear programme while funnelling funds into associated armed groups across the region - including spending up to $900 million on proxies, with “most of it going to the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon”.

The official said there had been a “few waves of missile attacks” against Israel but added: “We haven’t seen any significant hits so far.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EuropeanCouncil President Antonio Costa said on Saturday that developments in Iran are "greatly ​concerning" and called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint.

"In close coordination with EU member states, we will take all necessary steps to ensure that EU citizens in the region can count on our full support," the two leaders said in a joint statement.

"We call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint, to protect civilians, and to fully respect international law," they added.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps have said that all Israeli and US bases in the region have been “struck by the powerful blows of Iranian missiles”.

A spokesperson said that the operation will continue relentlessly until “the enemy is decisively defeated”.

They added that all US bases, resources and interests throughout the region are considered legitimate targets for the Iranian army.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council have also vowed a “crushing response”, stating: "The enemy believes that the resilient Iranian nation will surrender to their petty demands through such cowardly actions," the council said in a statement published by the semi-official Mehr news agency.

"The armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran have begun a crushing response to their malicious actions and will continuously keep the dear public informed."

One person has been killed in Abu Dhabi in the UAE after several missiles launched from Iran were intercepted, according to the Emirati defence ministry.

In a statement posted on social media, it said: “The UAE announced that it successfully intercepted a number of Iranian missiles targeting the country.

“The ministry of defence stated that the United Arab Emirates was subjected to a blatant attack today by Iranian ballistic missiles.

“The UAE’s air defences responded with high efficiency and successfully intercepted a number of the missiles. The relevant authorities also dealt with debris falling on a residential area in Abu Dhabi, resulting in some material damage and the death of an Asian national.”

British Airways has cancelled its flights linking London Heathrow with Bahrain and Tel Aviv until 3 March. Saturday’s link to Amman is also grounded.

A spokesperson told The Independent: “We are closely monitoring the situation and have taken the operational decision to cancel our flights to Tel Aviv and Bahrain up to and including 03 March and have cancelled today’s service to Amman.

“Safety is always our top priority, and we're contacting our customers to advise them of their travel options.”