United Nations Security Council (UNSC). PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE
THE UNITED NATIONS:
World leaders reacted with suspicion on Saturday to U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran that have sown fears of a broader conflict.
The UN Security Council has planned an emergency meeting, convened at the request of Bahrain and France. The meeting will take place at 4:00 p.m. (local time, 2:00 a.m. PST Sunday).
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and heads of UN agencies have condemned joint Israeli and US attacks on Iran as well as Iranian retaliatory strikes against Israel and the Persian Gulf regions.
“I condemn today’s military escalation in the Middle East,” the UN chief said in a statement as French President Emmanuel Macron called for an emergency meeting of UN security services to address the strikes that targeted Iran’s military and nuclear infrastructure.
In his statement, UN chief Guterres said the military escalation in the region undermines international peace and security, and reiterated that all member states must “respect their obligations under international law, including the Charter of the United Nations,” which prohibits “the threat of use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations.”
He called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and de-escalation and warned that failing to do so risks provoking a wider regional conflict with serious consequences for civilians and regional stability.
Senior officials added their own responses Saturday morning: Volker Turk, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said bombs and missiles are not the way to resolve disputes but “only lead to death, destruction and human misery.” Civilians, he stressed, “end up paying the ultimate price.”
Turk called on all parties to return to negotiations to avoid a broader conflict that would lead to further civilian deaths and “destruction on a potentially unimaginable scale, not only in Iran but across the entire Middle East region.”
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement that he was deeply troubled by the situation and urged leaders to “choose the difficult path of dialogue rather than the senseless path of destruction.”
Perhaps keen not to upset their already tense relations with US President Donald Trump, many countries refrained from commenting directly or conspicuously on the joint strikes, but condemned Tehran’s retaliation. Like Europeans, Middle Eastern governments have condemned Iranian strikes against Arab neighbors while remaining silent on US military action.
Other countries have been more explicit: Australia and Canada have openly expressed support for the US strikes, while Russia and China have responded with direct criticism.
The United States and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday, and US President Donald Trump called on the Iranian public to “take control of their destiny” by rising up against the Islamic theocracy that has ruled the country since 1979. Iran responded by firing missiles and drones towards Israel and US military bases in the Middle East.
In a statement, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on the United States and Iran to resume negotiations and said they favored a negotiated settlement. They said their countries did not participate in the strikes against Iran but were in close contact with the United States, Israel and their partners in the region.
The three countries have led efforts to reach a negotiated solution to Iran’s nuclear program.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms Iranian attacks on countries in the region. Iran must refrain from any indiscriminate military strikes. We call for the resumption of negotiations and urge Iranian leaders to seek a negotiated solution. Ultimately, the Iranian people must be allowed to determine their future,” they said.
Later, during an emergency security meeting, Macron said France was “neither warned nor involved” in the strikes. He called for intensified efforts to reach a negotiated solution, saying that “no one can think that the issues of Iran’s nuclear program, ballistic activity and regional destabilization will be resolved solely through strikes.”
The 22-nation Arab League called the Iranian attacks “a blatant violation of the sovereignty of countries that advocate peace and strive for stability.” This coalition of nations has historically condemned Israel and Iran for actions it says risk destabilizing the region.
Countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Israel – including Morocco, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates – have denounced Iranian strikes targeting US military bases in the region, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the Emirates.
Saudi Arabia said it “condemns and denounces in the strongest terms the treacherous Iranian aggression and blatant violation of its sovereignty.”
Oman, which mediates negotiations between Iran and the United States, said in a statement that the US action “constitutes a violation of the rules of international law and the principle of settling disputes by peaceful means, rather than through hostility and bloodshed.”
Countries in Europe and the Middle East used careful wording, avoiding giving the impression that they support unilateral U.S. action or directly condemn the United States.
Others were more direct. The Russian Foreign Ministry called the strikes a “pre-planned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent UN member state.” The ministry accused Washington and Tel Aviv of “hiding behind” concerns about Iran’s nuclear program while pursuing regime change.
Likewise, the Chinese government said it was “very concerned” by the US and Israeli strikes against Iran and called for an immediate halt to military action and a resumption of negotiations. “Iran’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity must be respected,” China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his country supports the United States in its efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring an atomic bomb. He described Iran’s current leaders as a destabilizing force and highlighted two attacks on Australian soil blamed on Tehran. Last August, Australia severed diplomatic relations with Iran and expelled its ambassador after accusing him of orchestrating two anti-Semitic attacks in the country.
Despite recent tensions with the United States, Canada has also expressed support for military action. “The Islamic Republic of Iran is the leading source of instability and terror throughout the Middle East,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said.
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank said they were largely unfazed when war broke out Saturday, barely stopping as explosions echoed across the sky from Israel’s Iron Dome intercepting missiles overhead.
Unlike Israel, Palestinian cities do not have warning sirens or bomb shelters, despite the risk of falling debris or stray missiles. As people sheltered within 10 miles of Jerusalem, the streets of Ramallah teemed with shoppers perusing meat counters, vegetable stalls and Ramadan treats, some stopping to record the sounds of distant sirens and missile intercepts.
But as Israel closed checkpoints to the movement of people and goods on Saturday, gas stations saw longer than usual queues as residents filled spare cans in case supplies were disrupted.
Nervousness is noticeable in many countries as people fear a full-scale war will engulf the region. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that he feared the failure of negotiations between the United States and Iran could mean a “new, extensive war in the Middle East.”
The Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons has condemned the US and Israeli strikes against Iran in harsher terms. “These attacks are completely irresponsible and risk further escalation and increasing the danger of nuclear proliferation and the use of nuclear weapons,” said its executive director, Melissa Parke.
EU leaders issued a joint statement on Saturday calling for restraint and engaging in regional diplomacy in the hope of “guaranteeing nuclear security”.
“We call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint, protect civilians and fully respect international law,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa.
The Arab League also called on all international parties “to work towards de-escalation as quickly as possible, to spare the region from the scourge of instability and violence and to resume dialogue”.
