UK pulls staff out of Iran as Trump escalates bombing blitzes & Tehran’s top dealmaker vows ‘no one will sell oil’

BRITAIN has pulled any remaining staff from Iran as the “all or nothing” war with the US escalates. The UK Foreign Office announced this evening: “Updated information on regional tensions, and due to the security situation, UK staff have been temporarily withdrawn from Iran.” A view of destroyed buildings in an area hit by a US airstrike in Tehran, Iran, on July 21, 2026 Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Head of Iran’s negotiating team said this was an “all or nothing” war Credit: x.com/@FaytuksNetwork The UK government had already evacuated the ambassador and consular staff, and has since carried out diplomatic operations from outside the country. It remains unclear who had remained in Tehran, and how many people have been pulled out. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! This comes as the Head of Iran’s negotiating team, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said: “The equation of this war is clear, all or nothing. In a region where we do not sell oil, no one will sell oil. “If our security is not guaranteed, no infrastructure will be safe, and the key to the security of the strait lies in the absence of American forces.” For 12 consecutive days, the US has carried out mass airstrikes across the country. Donald Trump vowed to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant every time Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, raising the stakes after Iranian-allied Houthis in Yemen threatened a second vital energy route. Five tankers changed course in the Red Sea to avoid the Bab el-Mandeb Strait today, a ⁠day after the Houthis’ threat to block Saudi oil exports. Three tankers loaded with Saudi oil for China and India were forced to make U-turns on Tuesday. Most read in The Sun An Iranian woman walks past a mural depicting late Iranian Supreme Leaders Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (L) and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (R) in Tehran Credit: EPA Trump walks to board Air Force One as he departs for Dover, Delaware, to attend the dignified transfer of US Army service members killed in Jordan and Iraq Credit: Reuters In response to Trump’s threat to Iran’s infrastructure, an Iranian military source cited by Tasnim news agency said Tehran would retaliate against infrastructure in the region. Trump further threatened to bomb Pickaxe Mountain, a fortified underground site that the US and Israel suspect could be used for nuclear activity. “We’ll be hitting that area very probably pretty soon,” he said on Tuesday. “There’s not a thing they can do about it. You know, normally I wouldn’t say that. If I thought they could do something about it, I would never say that. “But we’ll be hitting that area pretty soon, and very heavily.” Mediators have presented Iran with a proposal for a 10-day ceasefire aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, it was reported earlier this week. “Iran is trying to create leverage for a negotiation,” said Mahmoud Shehrah, associate fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme at Britain’s Chatham House think tank. The proposal aims to salvage an interim ceasefire agreement signed by the two parties in June. Iran has insisted on maintaining control over the key shipping route that it established during this war. But US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said allowing the regime to have ‌such control would set a dangerous precedent for the world. He said Iran was not “serious” about the negotiations, adding: “If they’re serious, we’re serious. “If they’re not, then we will do what’s necessary to protect our interests, and also the interests of our allies.” Comment now