Anwar urges restraint after US attack on Iran's nuclear sites
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the US's involvement in the Iran-Israel conflict is only worsening the situation.
PETALING JAYA : Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has raised concerns over the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel after US forces struck three of the republic's nuclear sites.
Anwar stressed that for genuine resolution, pressure must be placed on Israel to stop its provocative and violent actions against other nations.
'When they launch attacks and kill the people of Iran, there will inevitably be retaliation. Our position is one of fairness.
'In Gaza, the killings continue and it includes women and children. Now Israel is attacking Iran, which has decided to fight back. The involvement of outside powers, including the US, is only worsening the situation,' he told reporters after an event in Kuching today.
Anwar, who also serves as finance minister, warned that a closure of the Strait of Hormuz would have dire consequences on the global economy.
'To me, what matters most are human lives and justice.
'The question is, if Iran is not allowed to respond, why allow Israel to (continue) acting in such a manner?' he said.
Earlier today, AFP reported US president Donald Trump as saying that 'Tehran's nuclear programme had been obliterated' after US forces struck three Iranian nuclear sites – Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow – in a 'very successful attack'.
After days of deliberation and long before his self-imposed two-week deadline, Trump's decision to join Israel's military campaign against Iran represents a major escalation of the conflict.
In a speech that lasted just over three minutes, Trump said Iran's future held 'either peace or tragedy', and that there were many other targets that could be hit by the US military.
Yemen's Houthis had said they will target US vessels and battleships in the Red Sea if the Trump administration gets involved and continued to support the Israeli attack on Iran, according to a statement published on a Houthi spokesman's official Telegram account.
Shell Plc CEO Wael Sawan and Petronas group CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik Aziz have in the past week warned of rude shocks to global trade and oil prices following the escalating conflict around the Strait of Hormuz, a major transit route.
In a separate statement, opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin said Perikatan Nasional strongly condemned the acts of aggression carried out by both Israel and the US against Iran.
The Malaysian government, he said, must take a firmer and more resolute stance by calling for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to halt the actions of Israel and the US.
'Malaysia must also urgently engage with like-minded nations in a concerted and principled effort to address this crisis in a just, fair, and rules-based manner.'
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