More than 100,000 Britons register for help in Middle East

A total of 102,000 Britons have registered their presence in the Middle East with the UK government, as Iranian strikes continue across the region.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC there were an estimated 300,000 British citizens in Gulf countries, where much of the airspace is closed.

She said many of those trapped were holidaymakers, passengers transiting through or people on business visits.

Foreign Office sources said no evacuation was imminent but the government was preparing for potential scenarios if commercial flights remained grounded.

British nationals in Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Palestine, Qatar and United Arab Emirates have been urged to register their presence to receive updates from the Foreign Office.

The government has previously used registration schemes to provide urgent updates to people affected by international crises but the number of people and countries affected in this case is unprecedented.

Cooper told BBC Breakfast the situation was "deeply stressful" for those affected.

She urged people to follow local advice, which in most countries was to shelter in place.

Asked if the government was planning to launch an evacuation, Cooper said: "We are in close contact, for example, with the travel industry, with airline companies and airports and also with the governments in the region."

She added: "But we will need to provide updates for people as we go along... That's why we're encouraging people to register their presence so we know where they are so we can get information to them swiftly."

Cooper said that in previous similar situations the government had wanted to work with airline companies so people could fly home in the normal way.

Nearly half of the flights scheduled to depart from London Heathrow to the region on Sunday were cancelled, according to analytics company Cirium.

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are among the airlines which have cancelled or rerouted some flights.

Qatar Airways said on Monday morning that all its flights remained suspended.

Iran has retaliated to US and Israeli strikes with attacks on US assets and countries in the region with a US military presence, including Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq.

One person has been killed and 11 others injured at airports in Dubai and Abu Dhabi since the strikes began.