World reacts to strikes as 'dangerous escalation'
London talks follow first public call between Trump and Xi since his return to the White House, held just days earlier. PHOTO: REUTERS
The reaction of international community poured in after the United States struck three nuclear sites in Iran on Sunday, with majority of the world leaders condemning the attack and calling for de-escalation.
The European Union's top diplomat Kaja Kallas 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," Kallas wrote on X, adding that Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and that EU foreign ministers would discuss the situation Monday.
Russia 'strongly condemned' the bombings, calling them 'irresponsible' and a 'gross violation of international law'.
"A dangerous escalation has begun, fraught with further undermining of regional and global security," the Russian foreign ministry added.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the strikes a "dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge".
"There is no military solution. The only path forward is diplomacy. The only hope is peace," Guterres said in a statement.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called on Iran to "return to the negotiating table and reach a diplomatic solution to end this crisis".
"Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and the US has taken action to alleviate that threat," Starmer said on X, adding that "stability in the region is a priority".
French President Emmanuel Macron has called a meeting of the country's defence council for Sunday, with his office saying he had spoken with the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Oman on Sunday.
France is urging "all parties to exercise restraint to avoid any escalation that could lead to an extension of the conflict", Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot posted on X.
China's foreign ministry said it "strongly condemns" the US strikes, warning that they "escalate tensions in the Middle East".
"China calls on all parties to the conflict, especially Israel, to cease fire as soon as possible," the ministry said.
Pope Leo XIV said after the strikes that "humanity is crying out for peace" and called for an end to all wars.
"Each member of the international community has the moral responsibility to end the tragedy of war, before it becomes an irreparable chasm," Leo said during his weekly Angelus prayer at the Vatican.
Saudi Arabia expressed "great concern" after the strikes on its neighbour, the "sisterly Islamic Republic of Iran".
"The Kingdom underscores the need to exert all possible efforts to exercise restraint, de-escalate tensions, and avoid further escalation," the foreign ministry posted on X.
Pakistan, the only nuclear-armed Muslim country and a longtime Washington ally, said the US attacks "violate all norms of international law".
"We are gravely concerned at the possible further escalation of tensions in the region," Pakistan's foreign ministry said, adding that Iran had the "right to defend itself under the UN Charter".
The Palestinian militant group Hamas condemned the "blatant US aggression against the territory and sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran".
"This brutal aggression is a dangerous escalation," Hamas said, calling the attack "a flagrant violation of international law, and a direct threat to international peace and security".
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Russia's attack on Kyiv kills five, sparks fires, Ukraine says
KYIV: Russian drone and missile attacks in and around Kyiv overnight killed five people, injured scores, sparked fires in residential areas and damaged an entrance to a metro station that serves as a bomb shelter, Ukrainian officials said on Monday. 'The Russians' style is unchanged - to hit where there may be people,' Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said on the Telegram messaging app. 'Residential buildings, exits from shelters - this is the Russian style.' Russia has not commented on the strikes. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia launched in February 2022, but thousands of civilians have been killed in the conflict - the vast majority of them Ukrainian. At least four people were killed in Kyiv's busy Shevchenkivskyi district where the entire entrance of a residential high-rise building was destroyed, Ukraine's Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram. 'There are still people under the rubble,' Klymenko said. The attack caused damage in six of the city's 10 districts, including in several apartment buildings, and wounded at least 10 people, Klymenko said. Ukraine army chief vows to expand strikes on Russia A 68-year-old woman was killed and at least eight people were injured in the attack on the broader Kyiv region that surrounds the Ukrainian capital, its governor Mykola Kalashnik said on Telegram. Photos posted by Ukraine's State Emergency Service showed rescuers leading people to safety from several buildings and structures on fire in the dark. The Service said a pregnant woman was among those rescued. An exit to the metro station in Kyiv's Sviatoshynskyi district was also damaged, as well as an adjacent bus stop, Kyiv's officials said. Kyiv's deep metro stations have been used throughout the war as some of the city's safest bomb shelters. Russia's deadliest attack on Kyiv last week with hundreds of drones killed 28 people and injured more than 150, with Ukrainian officials saying that nearly 30 sites were hit during the multi-wave attack.
Business Recorder
4 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Russia's attack on Kyiv region kills one, sparks fires, Ukraine says
KYIV: An overnight Russian drone and missile attack in and around Kyiv killed one person, sparked fires in residential areas and damaged an entrance to a metro station that serves as a bomb shelter, Ukrainian authorities said on Monday. 'The Russians' style is unchanged - to hit where there may be people,' Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration said on the Telegram messaging app. 'Residential buildings, exits from shelters - this is the Russian style.' Russia has not commented on the strikes. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia launched in February 2022, but thousands of civilians have been killed in the conflict - the vast majority of them Ukrainian. A 68-year-old woman was killed and at least two people were injured in the attack on the broader Kyiv region that surrounds the Ukrainian capital, its governor Mykola Kalashnik said on Telegram. In the capital itself, at least five people were injured, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. Photos posted by Ukraine's State Emergency Service showed rescuers leading people to safety from several buildings and structures on fire in the dark. The Service said a pregnant woman was among those rescued. The attack caused damage in three of the city's 10 districts, including in several apartment buildings, Klitschko said. An exit to the metro station in Kyiv's Sviatoshynskyi districts was also damaged, as well as an adjacent bus stop, Kyiv's officials said. Ukraine army chief vows to expand strikes on Russia Kyiv's deep metro stations have been used throughout the war as some of the city's safest bomb shelters. Russia's deadliest attack on Kyiv last week with hundreds of drones killed 28 people and injured more than 150, with Ukrainian officials saying that nearly 30 sites were hit during the multi-wave attack.
Business Recorder
4 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Iran weighs retaliation against U.S. for strikes on nuclear sites
ISTANBUL/WASHINGTON/OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Iran and Israel traded air and missile strikes as the world braced on Monday for Tehran's response to the U.S. attack on its nuclear sites and U.S. President Donald Trump raised the idea of regime change in the Islamic republic. Iran vowed to defend itself on Sunday, a day after the U.S. joined Israel in the biggest Western military action against the country since its 1979 Islamic Revolution, despite calls for restraint and a return to diplomacy from around the world. ommercial satellite imagery indicated the U.S. attack on Saturday on Iran's subterranean Fordow nuclear plant severely damaged or destroyed the deeply buried site and the uranium-enriching centrifuges it housed, but the status of the site remained unconfirmed, experts said. Investors brace for oil price spike, rush to havens after US bombs Iran nuclear sites In his latest social media comments on the U.S. strikes, Trump said 'Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran.' 'The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!' he wrote on his Truth Social platform. Trump earlier called on Iran to forgo any retaliation and said the government 'must now make peace' or 'future attacks would be far greater and a lot easier.' The U.S. launched 75 precision-guided munitions including bunker-buster bombs and more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles against three Iranian nuclear sites, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, told reporters. The U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said no increases in off-site radiation levels had been reported after the U.S. strikes. Rafael Grossi, the agency's director general, told CNN that it was not yet possible to assess the damage done underground. A senior Iranian source told Reuters that most of the highly enriched uranium at Fordow had been moved elsewhere before the attack. Reuters could not immediately corroborate the claim. Tehran, which denies its nuclear programme is for anything other than peaceful purposes, sent a volley of missiles at Israel in the aftermath of the U.S. attack, wounding scores of people and destroying buildings in Tel Aviv. But it had not acted on its main threats of retaliation, to target U.S. bases or choke off oil shipments that pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Attempting to strangle Gulf oil supply by closing the strait could send global oil prices skyrocketing, derail the world economy and invite conflict with the U.S. Navy's massive Fifth Fleet based in the Gulf. Oil prices jumped on Monday to their highest since January. Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose $1.88 or 2.44% at $78.89 a barrel as of 1122 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 advanced $1.87 or 2.53% at $75.71. Iran's parliament has approved a move to close the strait, which Iran shares with Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Iran's Press TV said closing the strait would require approval from the Supreme National Security Council, a body led by an appointee of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Trump says Iran's key nuclear sites 'obliterated' by US airstrikes Caine said the U.S. military had increased protection of troops in the region, including in Iraq and Syria. The U.S. State Department issued a security alert for all U.S. citizens abroad, calling on them to 'exercise increased caution.' The United States already has a sizeable force in the Middle East, with nearly 40,000 troops and warships that can shoot down enemy missiles. The Israeli military reported a missile launch from Iran in the early hours of Monday morning, saying it was intercepted by Israeli defences. Air raid sirens blared in Tel Aviv and other parts of central Israel. Iran has repeatedly targeted the Greater Tel Aviv - a metropolitan area of around 4 million people - the business and economic hub of Israel where there are also critical military assets. Iranian news agencies reported air defences were activated in central Tehran districts to counter 'enemy targets', and that Israeli air strikes hit Parchin, the location of a military complex southeast of the capital. Regime change In a post to the Truth Social platform on Sunday, Trump raised the idea of regime change in Iran. 'It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!' he wrote. Trump's post came after officials in his administration, including U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, stressed they were not working to overthrow Iran's government. US B-2 bombers involved in Iran strikes, U.S. official says Israeli officials, who began the hostilities with a surprise attack on Iran on June 13, have increasingly spoken of their ambition to topple the hardline Shi'ite Muslim clerical establishment. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is expected to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday. The Kremlin has a strategic partnership with Iran, but also close links with Israel. Speaking in Istanbul on Sunday, Araqchi said his country would consider all possible responses and there would be no return to diplomacy until it had retaliated. Russia's foreign ministry condemned the U.S. attacks which it said had undermined the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. 'The risk of the conflict spreading in the Middle East, which is already gripped by multiple crises, has increased significantly,' it said. The U.N. Security Council met on Sunday to discuss the U.S. strikes as Russia, China and Pakistan proposed the 15-member body adopt a resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Middle East. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council the U.S. bombings in Iran marked a perilous turn in the region and urged a return to negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme.
