It is rare that the political class has been as united as it was on Monday evening when MPs voted by 285 to six for a cross-party amendment to keep all options open when dealing with Iran. The anti-war Tory MP John Baron proposed a backbench motion calling on the government to remove military intervention from the table and barely a voice was raised in support.

Israel was urged to give sanctions "a real chance" as Iran announced it was cutting oil sales to Britain and France.

Foreign Secretary William Hague called on Israel to look again at the approach "of very serious economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure, and the readiness to negotiate with Iran.

Israel and Britain have hailed the European Union for moving in the right direction after a new sanction on Iran was agreed.

The EU agreed on Monday morning to impose an oil embargo on Iran – one part of its wider challenge to Iran's nuclear programme.

Foreign Secretary William Hague has delivered a sharp rebuke to Israel over its decision to accelerate the construction of settlements and withhold tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority in a parliamentary statement on the Middle East.

Israel's Opposition leader has met the Foreign Secretary in London.

Tzipi Livni, in Britain for the first time since an anti-Israel group used the old universal jurisdiction legislation to apply for a war crimes arrest warrant for her, was at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office this morning for the meeting.

William Hague has warned that "time is running out" to find a solution to the conflict in the Middle East.

The Foreign Secretary, addressing the Conservative Party conference, said Britain wanted to see Jerusalem as a shared capital.