World leaders condemn Iran over strike on Israel
Countries around the world condemned Iran’s strikes on Israel, with many warning that the attack threatened to further destabilize the Middle East.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in a statement condemned the “reckless” strikes, which he said “risk inflaming tensions and destabilizing the region. Iran has once again demonstrated that it is intent on sowing chaos in its own backyard.”
The European with the United Nations Security Council set to hold an emergency meeting Sunday over Iran’s unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned “the serious escalation represented by the large-scale attack launched on Israel by the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
“I am deeply alarmed about the very real danger of a devastating region-wide escalation,” he added, calling on parties to “avoid any action that could lead to major military confrontations on multiple fronts in the Middle East.”
Biden said that he was convening fellow G7 leaders on Sunday to “coordinate a united diplomatic response” to Iran’s “brazen” attack, in an apparent indication that a military response is not currently on the table, while also noting that the attack on Israel was only on military facilities.
An NBC News report in the hours after the attack cited fears from senior US officials that Israel could act rashly in the wake of the Iranian attack without regard for the fallout. Citing a senior administration official and a senior defense official, the report said that the White House concerns stem from the way in which Israel has conducted its ongoing war in Gaza and the April 1 attack on senior Iranian general Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi in Damascus.
The Iranian attack on Israel came in response to that strike.
Union’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, condemned the strikes as “an unprecedented escalation and a grave threat to regional security” in a message on X.
