Rishi Sunak has clashed with Mhairi Black as he called for restraint in the Middle East following Iran’s attack on Israel over the weekend.

The Prime Minister criticised the SNP’s deputy leader in Westminster after she drew equivalence between Tehran’s drone attack to Israel’s response to the October 7 attack by Hamas.

The Conservative leader said these were “not remotely the same.”

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Iran launched around 350 drones and missiles at Israel on Saturday, but the majority were intercepted before they could reach their targets.

The RAF shot down a “number of Iranian drones,” the PM told MPs and the UK had “provided “important intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support for our partners”.

Tehran’s attack followed Israel’s targeting of an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria earlier this month.

In a Commons statement, Mr Sunak said he would be speaking “shortly” to Benjamin Netanyahu “to express our solidarity with Israel in the face of this attack and to discuss how we can prevent further escalation”.

“All sides must show restraint,” the Prime Minister said.

Mr Sunak told the Commons: “With this attack, Iran has once again shown its true colours. They are intent on sowing chaos in their own backyard, on further destabilising the Middle East.

“Our aim is to support stability and security because it is right for the region and because although the Middle East is thousands of miles away, it has a direct effect on our security and prosperity at home.

“So, we’re working urgently with our allies to de-escalate the situation and prevent further bloodshed. We want to see calmer heads prevail and we’re directing all our diplomatic efforts to that end.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said there was “no doubt” the attack “has left the world a more dangerous place” and said Iran “must be wholly condemned by all”.

He said “a full-scale conflict in the Middle East is in no-one’s interest” and “it is a path that can only lead to more bloodshed, more instability and the unleashing of forces that are beyond the ability of anyone to control”.

The leader of the opposition added: “If diplomacy takes centre stage, and it must, then we also need to be clear diplomatic premises should not be targeted and attacked. That is a point of principle.”

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Ms Black said the SNP condemned the “acts of violence by the Iranian regime.”

She added: “These acts are no more than a cynical attempt to exploit the suffering, the pain and the turmoil being experienced by those people in Palestine right now.

“And whilst we rightly condemn the violent acts of Iran so too must we condemn the violent acts of Israel.

"Listening to the interviews that he's been giving, the Foreign Secretary is correct in his attempt to uphold the principle of proportionality, but if 100 missiles in retaliation to an isolated attack on an embassy correctly constitutes as disproportionate then so too must Israel's 192 days bombardment of Gaza.”

Mr Sunak said it was “important not to try and draw any equivalence between Israel's absolute right and indeed duty to provide security for its citizens in the face of an appalling terrorist atrocity and indeed, what happened over the weekend.

“These things are just not remotely the same.

“So we will more broadly though, as I've said repeatedly from this despatch box, urge Israel to abide by international humanitarian law.”

He said the UK Government had “been very clear that too many civilians have been killed.”

“But as I said, drawing equivalence between these two things is absolutely not the right thing to do.”