World leaders on Sunday voiced concerns over the US decision to launch strikes against three nuclear facilities in Iran.
US President Donald Trump on Saturday said the military had bombed Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, bringing to an end days of speculation about whether America would become directly involved in the Iran-Israel conflict.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the US strikes “outrageous” and said they will have “everlasting consequences”.
“The United States, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has committed a grave violation of the UN Charter, international law and the NPT [Non-Proliferation Treaty] by attacking Iran's peaceful nuclear installations,” he said on X.
“Each and every member of the UN must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behaviour.”
Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation called the US attacks "a barbaric act that violates international law", adding that it would not allow "the path of development of this national industry ... be stopped". The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also responded to the US strikes with a vow that attacks on infrastructure, strategic sites and interests in Israel would continue.
The UAE has expressed deep concern and called for an immediate halt to the escalation to prevent the region from sliding into "new levels" of instability. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed the need to "prioritise diplomacy and dialogue to resolve disputes, within comprehensive approaches that achieve stability, prosperity and justice".
The UAE also urged the UN Security Council to "shoulder their responsibilities by actively working to resolve the region’s chronic issues, which are now at a critical juncture and pose an increasing threat to" regional and international security. The UAE emphasised the importance of "learning from the region’s historical conflicts and wars and the hard lessons they offer".
Saudi Arabia also expressed concern after the strikes, reiterating its condemnation of what it said was an attack on Iranian sovereignty.
The Foreign Ministry called in a statement for restraint and avoidance of escalation. It urged the international community to increase efforts in these "highly sensitive circumstances" to reach a political solution to end the crisis.
Countries in the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation were holding a meeting in Istanbul on Sunday, where foreign ministers said they would set up a group to "stop aggression against Iran". They did not mention the US directly.
Iraq also condemned the US attacks and called "for the urgent opening of diplomatic channels to contain the situation and defuse the crisis".
It warned that continuation of such attacks will “lead to a serious escalation with consequences that will exceed the borders of the any state and affect the stability of the region and the world”.
In Lebanon, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said his country would seek to avoid involvement in the conflict.
"In the face of the dangerous escalation in military operations and the risks of their repercussions for the entire region, it is increasingly important for us to adhere strictly to the supreme national interest, which requires avoiding Lebanon's involvement or being drawn into the ongoing regional confrontation in any way," he said on X.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the US bombing raises fears of an escalation of tensions that could threaten security and stability in more than one region and country.
Mr Aoun called for restraint and the launch of constructive and serious negotiations to restore stability to the countries of the region and avoid further killing and destruction.
A source told The National that Hezbollah has not changed its position and will not intervene in the conflict. “There is no change. The Iranians are the ones defending themselves,” the source said.
Once considered Iran’s most powerful proxy and a formidable militia, Hezbollah was significantly weakened by more than 14 months of conflict with Israel. That war ended in November.
Lebanese officials told The National that country's army had been in direct contact with Hezbollah, urging the group to avoid being drawn into the war alongside Iran.
Elsewhere in the region, Egypt called for de-escalation, warning that the conflict poses a major threat to the security of the Middle East and the wider world. The Foreign Ministry said it was watching the developments in Iran with “significant anxiety” and reiterated its rejection of any breaches of the UN charter.
Oman also expressed "deep concern and condemnation" after the latest escalation.
In Gaza, Hamas condemned what it called "blatant US aggression”.
"The Islamic Resistance Movement [Hamas] condemns in the strongest terms the blatant US aggression against the territory and sovereignty of the Islamic republic of Iran,” the group said in a statement.
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Gen Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, holds a press conference at the Pentagon after the US military struck three sites in Iran. AP -
A handout satellite image made available by Maxar Technologies shows craters and ash on a ridge at the Fordow underground uranium enrichment following US air strikes. EPA -
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men look in shock at a building ruined in an Iranian missile strike in Haifa, Israel. Getty Images -
Cars damaged in Haifa. Getty Images -
Debris in Tel Aviv. Israel was hit by a wave of aerial attacks from Iran after the US entered the war overnight and bombed several Iranian nuclear sites. Getty Images -
Emergency workers search for survivors in the Ramat Aviv neighbourhood of Tel Aviv, after it was bombed. Getty Images -
Residential buildings destroyed at the site of an Iranian air strike in Ramat Aviv. Getty Images -
Missiles launched from Iran are intercepted over Tel Aviv. Reuters -
Israeli emergency teams at the site of an Iranian missile strike on a residential complex in Tel Aviv. EPA -
People look at a site bombed in Haifa. Reuters -
Israeli emergency personnel at a building hit by an Iranian missile strike, in Haifa. Reuters -
Israeli emergency personnel at a building hit by an Iranian missile strike, in Haifa. AFP -
A car hit by a missile launched from Iran, in Haifa. AFP -
Israeli emergency personnel at a building hit by an Iranian missile strike, in Haifa. AFP -
Israeli emergency personnel at a building hit by an Iranian missile strike, in Haifa. AFP -
Israeli emergency personnel at a building hit by an Iranian missile strike, in Haifa. AFP -
Israeli emergency personnel at a building hit by an Iranian missile strike, in Haifa. AFP -
People gather outside a damaged building in Haifa. Reuters -
Israeli ambassador to the UN in Geneva addresses and emergency session. AFP -
Israelis flee an Iranian missile strike in the port city of Haifa. AP Photo -
An injured man is helped after an Iranian missile strike in Haifa. AP Photo -
A protester holds up a portrait of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a demonstration against Israeli attacks on Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon. AP Photo -
People take shelter as air raid sirens warn of incoming Iranian strikes in Tel Aviv. AP Photo -
Smokes rises from Soroka Medical Centre, in Beersheba, southern Israel, after it was hit by an Iranian missile. AP -
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt takes questions from reporters. She said President Donald Trump would decide whether the US would join Israel’s war on Iran 'in the next two weeks'. AFP -
Iran's Arak heavy water reactor, in central Iran, after Israeli air strikes. Reuters -
People march in Times Square, New York, to call on President Trump not to go to war with Iran. AFP -
Israel's Iron Dome air defence system intercepts missiles fired from Iran over Tel Aviv. EPA -
Israelis shelter in an underground train station in Ramat Gan after a missile warning. Getty Images -
Israeli special forces check the remains of a suspected Iranian ballistic missile in northern Israel. Reuters -
Smoke rises after an Israeli attack in the Iranian capital, Tehran. Reuters -
A picture released by Iran's armed forces claims to show an Israeli drone shot down outside the central city of Isfahan. AP -
People take cover inside a cable car tunnel in Haifa after an Iranian missile attack. Reuters -
Israeli air defence systems fire at Iranian missiles over Tel Aviv. AFP -
Missiles are intercepted above Ashkelon, Israel. Reuters -
Smoke rises in Tehran. Reuters -
A building burns after strikes on the Israeli city of Herzliya, near Tel Aviv. AFP -
An Iranian missile causes an explosion in Tel Aviv. AP -
Rescuers sift through the remains of a damaged building in Tel Aviv after a barrage of Iranian rockets. AFP -
A wounded man is treated after an explosion in Tehran. AP
"This brutal aggression is a dangerous escalation,” it added, calling the attack "a flagrant violation of international law, and a direct threat to international peace and security”.
Yemen's Houthi rebel government said on Sunday that it supported an earlier vow by its armed wing to attack US ships in the Red Sea should Washington launch strikes on Iran. The Houthis are also backed by Tehran.
In Iraq, an Iran-backed armed faction said it would enter the war, in the first reaction from Iraqi militant groups. “America has left us no other option other than the war,” Mohammed Al Tamimi, leader of the True Promise Corps, told The National.
“In the coming hours, there will be a response that will heal the hearts with God’s help,” Mr Al Tamimi said without elaborating. “From now on, American and Israeli interests everywhere are targets for us."
Further afield, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was "gravely alarmed” by the US strikes.
"This is a dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge – and a direct threat to international peace and security,” he said in a statement on X. "I call on member states to de-escalate and to uphold their obligations under the UN Charter and other rules of international law.”
The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, called for an emergency meeting on Monday.
In the US Congress, Democrats attacked Mr Trump for the decision. Democratic House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries criticised the strike.
“President Trump misled the country about his intentions, failed to seek congressional authorisation for the use of military force and risks American entanglement in a potentially disastrous war in the Middle East,” he said in a statement.
Even pro-Trump Republicans had strong words against the decision. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a leading Make America Great Again Republican isolationist congresswoman, wrote in a post on X that "Israel is a nuclear armed nation. This is not our fight. Peace is the answer.”
Other Republicans, however, came out strongly in support of Mr Trump's decision, with House Speaker Mike Johnson saying that the President "gave Iran’s leader every opportunity to make a deal, but Iran refused to commit to a nuclear disarmament agreement”.
And the head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Roger Wicks, said: "Our commander-in-chief has made a deliberate – and correct – decision to eliminate the existential threat posed by the Iranian regime”.
Senator Tom Cotton said Mr Trump "made the right call and the ayatollahs should recall his warning not to target Americans”.
In Europe, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called on Iran to "return to the negotiating table and reach a diplomatic solution" to end the crisis. "Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and the US has taken action to alleviate that threat," Mr Starmer said on X, adding that "stability in the region is a priority".
EU foreign affairs minister Kaja Kallas also called for de-escalation and a return to negotiations.
"I urge all sides to step back, return to the negotiating table and prevent further escalation," she wrote on X, adding that Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and that European foreign ministers would discuss the situation on Monday.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, meanwhile, urged Tehran to hold talks with the US and Israel immediately to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Mr Trump for ordering the strikes. "First comes strength, then comes peace,” he said. "And tonight, President Trump and the United States acted with a lot of strength.”
Yoav Gallant, Israel's former defence minister, said Mr Trump had taken "a bold decision” in attacking Iran. "The world is now a safer place,” he said on X.
