World Leaders React Cautiously To U.S. And Israeli Strikes On Iran As Fears Grow Of Wider War

BRUSSELS (AP) — How long will it take? Will it grow? What will this mean for us and for global security in general? These questions echoed across the Middle East and across the planet on Saturday as world leaders reacted cautiously to the question. Attack on Iran by the USA and Israel He may have ended the life of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Israeli officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that Khamenei was dead. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said in a televised speech that there were “growing signs” that Khamenei was killed when Israel struck his compound in the early hours of Saturday.

Iran did not comment on Khamenei’s status. The death of the second leader of the Islamic Republic, whose successor is unknown, will drag its future into uncertainty.

His death would also worsen already growing concerns about a wider conflict. The UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting.

Perhaps wary of upsetting already tense relations with U.S. President Donald Trump, many countries have refrained from commenting directly or publicly on the joint attacks but condemned Tehran’s retaliation. While governments in the Middle East, like Europeans, condemned Iran’s attacks on its Arab neighbors, they remained silent on the US military action.

Other countries made clearer statements: Australia and Canada openly supported US attacks, while Russia and China he responded with direct criticism.

USA and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday US President Donald Trump He called on the Iranian public to “take control of your destiny” by rising up against the Islamic theocracy that has ruled the country since 1979. Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones at Israel and US military bases in the Middle East.

In their statements, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on the USA and Iran to continue negotiations and said that they were in favor of reaching an agreement through negotiations. They said their country was not involved in attacks against Iran, but was in close contact with the United States, Israel and its 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 terms Iran’s attacks on countries in the region. Iran must refrain from indiscriminate military attacks. We call for the resumption of negotiations and call on the Iranian leadership to seek a negotiated solution. Ultimately, the Iranian people must be allowed to determine their own future.”

Later, at an emergency security meeting, Macron said France was “neither warned nor involved” in the attacks. He called for intensified efforts for a negotiated solution, saying “no one can think that the questions of Iran’s nuclear program, ballistic activity, regional destabilization will be settled by strikes alone.”

The 22-nation Arab League called the Iranian attacks “a clear violation of the sovereignty of countries that defend peace and strive for stability.” This coalition of nations has historically condemned both Israel and Iran for actions it says risk destabilizing the region.

Countries that maintain diplomatic ties with Israel, including Morocco, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, condemned Iranian attacks 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 Iran’s treacherous aggression and blatant violation of sovereignty.” Oman, which mediates the talks between Iran and the United States, said in a statement that the US action “means a violation of the rules of international law and the principle of resolving disputes through peaceful means rather than hostility and bloodshed.”

Countries in Europe and the Middle East used careful wording, avoiding the perception that they were supporting American unilateral action or directly condemning the United States.

Others were more forthright. Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs it’s called a strike “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 when in reality they were pursuing regime change.

Similarly, the Chinese government stated that it was “extremely concerned” about the attacks of the USA and Israel against Iran and called for an immediate halt to the military operation and a return to negotiations. In the statement made by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was said: “Iran’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity must be respected.”

Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his country supports US efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining an atomic bomb. He described Iran’s current leadership as a destabilizing force and noted: two attacks They blamed Tehran on Australian soil. Last August, Australia severed diplomatic relations with Iran and expelled its ambassador after accusing Iran of carrying out two anti-Semitic attacks in the country.

On the contrary recent tensions The USA and Canada also expressed their support for the military operation. “The Islamic Republic of Iran is the main source of instability and terrorism in the Middle East,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said.

The UN Security Council also planned an emergency meeting on the US and Israel’s attacks on Iran, upon the request of Bahrain and France.

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank said Saturday they were largely unfazed by the outbreak of war, barely pausing as the sounds of 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 errant missiles. As people sought shelter less than 10 miles from Jerusalem, Ramallah’s streets were filled with shoppers browsing meat stalls, vegetable stalls and Ramadan sweets; some stopped to record distant sirens and missile intercepts.

But on Saturday, when Israel closed checkpoints to the movement of people and goods, longer-than-usual queues formed at gas stations as residents filled spare canisters in case of supply disruption.

Nervousness is felt in many countries. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that he was concerned that the failure of negotiations between the United States and Iran would mean “a new comprehensive war in the Middle East.”

The Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons condemned the US and Israeli attacks on Iran in harsher terms. “These attacks are completely irresponsible and risk escalating tensions as well as increasing the danger of nuclear proliferation and use of nuclear weapons,” said Executive Director Melissa Parke.

EU leaders issued a joint statement on Saturday calling for moderation and engaging in regional diplomacy in the hope of “ensuring nuclear security”.

In the statement of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa, “We call on all parties to show maximum restraint, protect civilians and fully respect international law.” expressions were used.

The Arab League also called on all international parties to “de-escalate tensions as soon as possible, save the region from the scourge of instability and violence, and return to dialogue.”

Ciobanu reported from Warsaw and Metz from Ramallah. Associated Press writers Joe Federman in Jerusalem, Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Angela Charlton in Paris, Paolo Santalucia in Rome, Suman Naishadham in Madrid, Elise Morton and Krutika Pathi in London, Jamey Keaton in Geneva, Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Fatma Khaled and Sam Magdy in Cairo, Ken Moritsugu in Beijing and Adam Schreck in Bangkok contributed to this report. contributed.