The United States, Britain and the EU called for “de-escalation” after Israel on Saturday hit military targets across Iran in deadly retaliatory strikes as Muslim countries and Russia blamed Israel for exacerbating the conflict.
Israeli planes hit military bases, missile sites and other systems in several Iranian regions in retaliation for a missile barrage earlier this month. Iran said two soldiers died in the attacks.
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply alarmed” by the deadly air strikes, urging an end to the wider conflict in the Middle East.
Guterres “urgently reiterates his appeal to all parties to cease all military actions, including in Gaza and Lebanon,” his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement, calling for “maximum efforts to prevent an all-out regional war and return to the path of diplomacy”.
The United States urged Iran to stop attacking Israel and break the cycle of violence “without further escalation”.
Israel’s “response was an exercise in self-defense and specifically avoided populated areas and focused solely on military targets, contrary to Iran’s attack against Israel that targeted Israel’s most populous city,” National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett told reporters, stressing that the United States did not participate in the operation.
“It is our aim to accelerate diplomacy and de-escalate tensions in the Middle East region,” he said.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for “de-escalation” and said Iran should not respond to Israel’s strikes.
“I think we need to be really clear that Israel does have the right to defend itself, but we are urging, and have been urging all sides to show restraint, and that is why I am very clear today, Iran should not be responding to this,” Starmer said.
The European Union warned against “the dangerous cycle of attacks and retaliations”, which could lead to a full-scale regional war.
“While acknowledging Israel’s right to self-defence, the EU calls on all parties to exercise utmost restraint to avoid an uncontrollable escalation, which is in no one’s interest,” the 27-nation bloc said in a statement.
Russia urged all sides to exercise restraint and warned of a “catastrophic scenario”.
“We urge all parties involved to exercise restraint, stop the violence and prevent events from developing into a catastrophic scenario,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, warning of an “explosive escalation”.
Saudi Arabia condemned Israel and warned against any further expansion of the conflict in the Middle East.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expresses its condemnation and denunciation” of the Israeli strikes, the foreign ministry said, repeating its “firm position rejecting escalation of the conflict in the region”, which “threatens the security and the stability of countries and peoples” in the Middle East.
Qatar said “Israel’s targeting” of Iran is “a flagrant violation of Iran’s sovereignty and a clear breach of the principles of international law”.
The Qatari Foreign Ministry expressed in a statement its “deep concern about the serious repercussions that may result from this escalation”, calling on “all concerned parties to exercise restraint and resolve differences through dialogue and peaceful means”.
Bahrain, which normalised relations with Israel in 2020, condemned the “military operation” against Iran, expressing “deep concern over the continued escalation of tensions” in the region.
In a statement, the Bahraini Foreign Ministry urged the concerned parties to “exercise restraint and prioritize de-escalation to prevent the expansion of war and conflict.”
Syria expressed its “solidarity” with its ally Iran.
The foreign ministry said it supported “Iran’s legitimate right to defend itself and protect its territory and the lives of its citizens”.
Iraq accused Israel of expanding conflict in the Middle East and denounced global inaction.
“The occupying Zionist entity continues its aggressive policies and widening the conflict in the region through blatant attacks that it carries out with impunity,” government spokesman Basim Alawadi said in a statement, citing “the international community’s silence” on Israeli actions.
Jordan said the strikes were “in violation of international law and (Iran’s) sovereignty, and a dangerous escalation that leads to more tension in the region.”
Foreign ministry spokesman Sufyan Qudah called on the international community to “assume its responsibilities and take immediate measures to impose a halt to the Israeli aggression on Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon as a first step towards reducing the escalation”.
Turkey condemned Israel’s strikes on Iran and called for an end to what it said was Israel’s “terror” in the region.
“Putting an end to the terror created by Israel in the region has become an historic task for the establishment of international peace and security,” the Turkish foreign ministry said.
“By committing genocide in Gaza, preparing to annex the West Bank and killing civilians every day in Lebanon, Israel has brought our region to the brink of a greater war,” it added.
Pakistan condemned Israel’s strikes, saying it bore “full responsibility” for escalating the conflict in the Middle East.
“These strikes undermine the path to regional peace and stability and also constitute a dangerous escalation in an already volatile region,” its foreign ministry said in a statement.
Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which is at war with Israel in Gaza and backed by Iran, blasted Israel.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the Zionist aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the targeting of military sites in several provinces”, the movement said in a statement, calling the move “a blatant violation of Iranian sovereignty and an escalation that threatens the security of the region”.
Fellow Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, locked in conflict with Israel in Lebanon, likewise slammed Israel and laid the blame for the massacres at its ally the United States.
“Hezbollah strongly condemns the treacherous Zionist aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran and considers it a dangerous escalation at the level of the entire region,” the Shiite group said in a statement, adding that the United States “bears full responsibility for the massacres, tragedies and pain” caused by Israel.
Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned Iran against any “escalation” after Israel struck Iranian military targets.
“My message to Iran is clear: massive escalating reactions must not continue. These must stop immediately. Only then can we open the possibility of a peaceful evolution in the Middle East,” Scholz posted on X.
The Algerian foreign ministry “strongly condemns and denounces” Israel’s military strikes on Iran, which it called “heinous aggression”, and called on the international community to halt Israel from escalating conflict in the region.
Neighbouring Tunisia similarly issued a statement warning of “severe consequences” of Israel’s strikes on Iran and calling on “the international community to urgently assume its responsibilities to put an end to this reckless approach”.
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