Britain has temporarily withdrawn its embassy staff from Iran as a precaution against the deteriorating security situation, leaving consular services severely limited for UK nationals in the country.

Embassy operations will continue remotely, according to an updated Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office travel advisory issued on July 22 seen by IntelliNews. 

The advisory said in-person assistance would not be available in an emergency and warned British nationals in Iran not to expect face-to-face consular support if they run into difficulties.

The advisory cited regional security developments, noting that Iran has carried out retaliatory attacks on US military and civilian infrastructure across the region since July 8, and that the risk of further strikes and unpredictable escalation remains high.

Britain's new Burnham administration previously cleared US military to use its bases for a potential strike on Iran in recent days, with the news reaching Tehran officials who said that any help towards the US would be seen as complicity. 

The FCDO also urged British nationals across the Middle East to prepare for flight cancellations, temporary airspace closures and wider travel disruption.

The withdrawal was announced hours after US President Donald Trump warned on his Truth Social platform that any Iranian attack on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz would be met with US strikes on Iranian bridges or power plants, including targets in Tehran.

Staff have been removed from the country on several occasions in recent years, the latest being in January 2026 in the last bout of trouble between the US and Iran. 

The move stops short of a formal closure of the mission, which remains open with staff working remotely. That distinguishes it from November 2011, when protesters including members of the Basij paramilitary force stormed the Tehran compound, tearing down the British flag, destroying portraits of Queen Elizabeth II and seizing hard drives.

Staff were evacuated and the embassy shut entirely, with London holding Tehran fully responsible for the attack. The storming followed a vote in Iran's parliament to expel the British ambassador and downgrade trade ties, in retaliation for UK-led sanctions on the Iranian banking sector.

The embassy remained closed for close to four years, reopening on August 23, 2015 after the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers and the election of Hassan Rouhani. Then foreign secretary Philip Hammond attended the ceremony, the first visit to Tehran by a British foreign secretary since 2003, and Iran reopened its London embassy the same day. Both missions initially operated at chargé d'affaires level.

Britain met the cost of restoring the ransacked compound itself, reported at the low hundreds of thousands of pounds, with compensation negotiations unresolved at the time of reopening.