Questions of duration, escalation, and global impact echoed across the Middle East and the world Saturday as leaders reacted warily to U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Donald Trump on Khamenei
U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead. This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS. He was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do. This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country. We are hearing that many of their IRGC, Military, and other Security and Police Forces, no longer want to fight, and are looking for Immunity from us. As I said last night, ‘Now they can have control of their Country.’”
Iranian state media confirmed early Sunday that the 86-year-old leader had died without specifying a cause. Israeli officials previously told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that Khamenei was dead, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a televised address, said there were “growing signs” that Khamenei had been killed when Israel struck his compound early Saturday.
The apparent demise of Iran’s second leader, who had no designated successor, is likely to throw the country’s future into uncertainty and exacerbate concerns of a broader conflict. The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting. Perhaps cautious about upsetting already strained relations with Trump, many nations abstained from commenting directly or pointedly on the joint strikes but condemned Tehran’s retaliation. Similarly, Middle Eastern governments condemned Iran’s strikes on Arab neighbours while staying silent on U.S. and Israeli military action. Other countries were more explicit: Australia and Canada expressed open support for the U.S. strikes, while Russia and China responded with direct criticism.
The U.S. and Israel launched a major attack on Iran Saturday. Trump urged the Iranian public to rise up against the Islamic theocracy that has governed since 1979, reinforcing his message of opportunity for Iran’s people to reclaim control. Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. military bases in the Middle East.
In a statement, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on the U.S. and Iran to resume talks and said they favoured a negotiated settlement. They said their countries didn’t take part in the strikes on Iran but are in close contact with the U.S., Israel and partners in the region. The three countries have led efforts to reach a negotiated solution over Iran’s nuclear program. They added, “We condemn Iranian attacks on countries in the region in the strongest terms. Iran must refrain from indiscriminate military strikes. Ultimately, the Iranian people must be allowed to determine their future.” Later, at an emergency security meeting, Macron said France was “neither warned nor involved” in the strikes. He called for intensified efforts for a negotiated solution, saying “no one can think that the questions of Iran’s nuclear program, ballistic activity, regional destabilization will be settled by strikes alone.”
The 22-nation Arab League called the Iranian attacks “a blatant violation of the sovereignty of countries that advocate for peace and strive for stability.” Morocco, Jordan, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates denounced Iranian strikes targeting U.S. military bases, including in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the Emirates. Under former President Bashar Assad, Syria was among Iran’s closest regional allies and a critic of Israel, yet a statement from its foreign ministry singularly condemned Iran, reflecting the new government’s efforts to rebuild ties with regional economic heavyweights and the United States. Saudi Arabia said it “condemns and denounces in the strongest terms the treacherous Iranian aggression and the blatant violation of sovereignty.” Oman, which has been mediating talks between Iran and the U.S., said in a statement that the U.S. action “constitutes a violation of the rules of international law and the principle of settling disputes through peaceful means, rather than through hostility and the shedding of blood.”
Careful wording dominated statements from other countries. New Zealand acknowledged Saturday that the U.S. and Israeli attacks were keeping the Iranian regime from remaining an ongoing threat. “The legitimacy of a government rests on the support of its people,” said New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters in a joint statement. “The Iranian regime has long since lost that support.” Countries in Europe and the Middle East avoided perceptions that they either supported unilateral American action or directly condemned the United States.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry called the strikes “a pre-planned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent U.N. member state.” The ministry accused Washington and Tel Aviv of “hiding behind” concerns about Iran’s nuclear program while actually pursuing regime change. Similarly, China’s government said it was “highly concerned” about the U.S. and Israeli strikes and called for an immediate halt to military action and a return to negotiations. “Iran’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity should be respected,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said.
Despite recent tensions with the U.S., Canada expressed its support for the military action. “The Islamic Republic of Iran is the principal source of instability and terror throughout the Middle East,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said. The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, at the request of Bahrain and France.
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank said they were largely unfazed as war erupted Saturday, barely pausing as booms echoed across the sky from Israel’s Iron Dome intercepting missiles overhead. Unlike Israel, Palestinian cities have no warning sirens or bomb shelters, despite the risk of falling debris or errant missiles. As people sheltered less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) away in Jerusalem, streets in Ramallah swarmed with shoppers browsing meat counters, vegetable stalls, and Ramadan sweets, some stopping to record the sounds of distant sirens and missile interceptions.
As Israel closed checkpoints to the movement of people and goods on Saturday, gas stations saw longer-than-usual lines as residents filled spare canisters in case of supply disruptions. The Palestinian Authority, in a statement, condemned the Iranian attacks on Arab nations, many of which have historically helped underwrite its finances, and made no mention of the Israeli or U.S. strikes.
Nervousness is perceptible across multiple countries. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that he was concerned the failure of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran meant “a new, extensive war in the Middle East.” The Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons condemned the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in harsher words. “These attacks are totally irresponsible and risk provoking further escalation as well as increasing the danger of nuclear proliferation and the use of nuclear weapons,” said its executive director, Melissa Parke. EU leaders issued a joint statement Saturday calling for restraint and engaging in regional diplomacy in hopes of “ensuring nuclear safety.” The Arab League also appealed to all international parties “to work towards de-escalation as soon as possible, to spare the region the scourge of instability and violence, and to return to dialogue.”
