Foreign Office issues urgent warning to anyone travelling to 18 countries

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The Foreign Office has issued an urgent warning today to anyone travelling to 18 countries, including popular holiday destinations. Travellers to places such as Egypt, Morocco, Dubai, Cyprus and Turkey have been advised to exercise extra caution.

In a critical update, UK government officials have issued alerts for those travelling to Cyprus, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, The Occupied Palestinian Territories, Israel, Libya, Iran, Lebanon, and Syria. Following the recent Israeli attacks on Iran, the Foreign Office has warned travellers to be aware of the potential for a regional escalation in violence.

The Foreign Office further stated: "Your travel insurance could be invalidated if you travel against advice from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)."

Officials also added: "Ongoing hostilities in the region and between Israel and Lebanon could escalate quickly and pose risks for the wider region. On 1 October, Iran launched around 200 ballistic missiles at Israel. On 26 October, Israel carried out military action against Iran."

"Monitor this travel advice and other media as the situation is changing fast. Follow and contact FCDO travel on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You can also get email notifications when this travel advice is updated. Read FCDO advice if you're affected by a crisis abroad.", reports the Liverpool Echo.

It also issued a separate warning for Turkey following an attack that resulted in several fatalities. It stated: "On 23 October there was a terrorist attack on Turkish Aerospace Industries' facility in Kahramankazan, 40km northwest of central Ankara, which resulted in 5 deaths and 22 injuries, as well as the deaths of the two assailants."

The announcement continued: "While the incident has ended, the response is ongoing, including increased security measures at Turkish airports, which means security checks will take longer than normal. If you are in the area near the attack, follow the advice of the local authorities and monitor local media."

Israel launched pre-dawn airstrikes on Iran on Saturday claiming it was in retaliation for the Islamic Republic's earlier ballistic missile attacks on Israel. The Israeli military claimed it targeted Iranian facilities used to manufacture missiles launched at Israel, in addition to surface-to-air missile sites.

Despite the tensions, there were no immediate reports suggesting oil or missile sites were affected – outcomes that would represent a steep escalation – whilst Israel did not share any immediate damage assessment.

Loud explosions were reported in Tehran; however, Iran maintained that only "limited damage" occurred and state-run media minimized the severity of the Israeli airstrikes.

However, these strikes pose a risk of escalating the conflict between the arch-enemies towards full-blown war. This comes at a time when violence is already spiralling across the Middle East, with Iran-backed militant groups such as Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon engaged in warfare with Israel.

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