Brussels — How long will it last? Will you grow? What will be the conflict and the death of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei I mean, for us, and for global security in general? These questions echoed throughout the Middle East and the world on Saturday, as world leaders reacted cautiously to them American and Israeli strikes on Iran.
US President Donald Trump said on social media that Khamenei had died, calling it “the Iranian people’s greatest opportunity to take back their country.” Iranian state media said early Sunday that the 86-year-old leader had died, without providing details of the cause.
Israeli officials previously told the Associated Press, on condition of anonymity, that Khamenei had died. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a televised speech, said there were “increasing indications” that Khamenei was killed when Israel bombed his compound early Saturday.
The apparent death of the Islamic Republic’s second leader, who had no designated successor, is likely to throw its future into uncertainty and exacerbate already growing concerns about a broader conflict. The UN Security Council decided to hold an emergency meeting.
Perhaps wary about upsetting already strained relations with Trump, several countries refrained from commenting directly or explicitly on the joint strikes but condemned Tehran’s retaliation. Like the Europeans, governments across the Middle East have condemned Iranian attacks on their Arab neighbors while remaining silent on US and Israeli military action.
Other countries were more clear: Australia and Canada expressed explicit support for the US strikes, while… Russia and China Respond with direct criticism.
United States and Israel launched a major attack against Iran On Saturday, and Trump He called on the Iranian people to “take control of their destiny” by rising up against the Islamic theocracy that has ruled the nation since 1979. Iran responded by launching missiles and drones toward Israel and American 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 United States and Iran to resume talks, and said that they preferred to reach a negotiated settlement. They said that their countries did not participate in the strikes on Iran, but were in close contact with the United States, Israel, and partners in the region.
The three countries led efforts to reach a negotiated solution to the Iranian nuclear program.
They said: “We condemn the Iranian attacks on the countries of the region in the strongest terms. Iran must refrain from indiscriminate military strikes.” “Ultimately, the Iranian people must be allowed to determine their own future,” they said.
Later, during an emergency security meeting, Macron said France “was not warned and did not participate” in the strikes. He called for intensifying efforts to reach a negotiated solution, saying: “No one can believe that issues related to the Iranian nuclear program, ballistic activity, and regional destabilization will be settled by strikes alone.”
The 22-nation Arab League described the Iranian attacks as “a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of countries that call for peace and strive to achieve stability.” The coalition of countries has historically condemned both Israel and Iran for actions it says risk destabilizing the region.
Morocco, Jordan, Syria and the United Arab Emirates condemned the Iranian strikes that targeted US military bases in the region, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE.
Under former President Bashar al-Assad, Syria was among Iran’s closest regional allies and a vocal critic of Israel, but a statement from its Foreign Ministry uniquely condemned Iran, reflecting the new government’s efforts to rebuild relations with regional economic heavyweights and the United States.
Saudi Arabia said it “condemns and denounces in the strongest terms the treacherous Iranian aggression and blatant violation of sovereignty.” Oman, which mediates the talks between Iran and the United States, said in a statement that the American action “constitutes a violation of the rules of international law and the principle of settling disputes by peaceful means, and not through hostility and bloodshed.”
New Zealand declined to offer full support but acknowledged on Saturday that the US and Israeli attacks prevent the Iranian regime from remaining a continuing threat. “The legitimacy of a government depends on the support of its people,” New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a joint statement. “The Iranian regime lost this support a long time ago.”
European and Middle Eastern countries used careful wording, avoiding perceptions that they either supported unilateral American action or directly condemned the United States.
Others were more frank. Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs He called strikes “A pre-planned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent Member State of the United Nations.” The ministry accused Washington and Tel Aviv of “hiding behind” concerns about Iran’s nuclear program while actually seeking regime change.
Likewise, the Chinese government said it was “deeply concerned” about the US and Israeli strikes on Iran, and called for an immediate cessation of military operations and a return to negotiations. A Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said: “Iran’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity must be respected.”
Although Recent tensions Along with the United States, Canada has also expressed its support for military action. “The Islamic Republic of Iran is the primary source of instability and terrorism throughout the Middle East,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said.
The UN Security Council decided to hold an emergency meeting regarding the American and Israeli attacks on Iran, at the request of Bahrain and France.
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank said they were largely unfazed by the outbreak of war on Saturday, barely letting up as the thunder of the Iron Dome intercepting rockets boomed overhead.
Unlike Israel, Palestinian cities have no sirens or bomb shelters, despite the risk of falling debris or errant rockets. As people took shelter less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) away in Jerusalem, Ramallah’s streets were crowded with shoppers browsing meat counters, vegetable stalls and Ramadan sweets, some stopping to record the sounds of sirens and intercept distant missiles.
But with Israel closing checkpoints to the movement of people and goods on Saturday, gas stations saw longer-than-usual queues as residents filled spare bottles in case supplies were cut off.
In a statement, the Palestinian Authority condemned Iranian attacks on Arab countries, many of which have historically helped ensure their financial resources. He did not mention the Israeli or American strikes.
Tension is evident in many countries. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Ede told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that he was concerned that the failure of negotiations between the United States and Iran would mean “a new large-scale war in the Middle East.”
The Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons condemned the US and Israeli strikes on Iran in the strongest terms. “These attacks are completely irresponsible and risk provoking further escalation as well as increasing the risk of nuclear proliferation and the use of nuclear weapons,” said Melissa Park, its executive director.
European Union leaders issued a joint statement on Saturday calling for restraint and engaging in regional diplomacy in the hope of “ensuring nuclear safety.” The Arab League also called on all international parties to “work to stop the escalation as soon as possible, spare the region the scourge of instability and violence, and return to dialogue.”
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Ciopano reported from Warsaw and Metz from Ramallah. Joseph Federman in Jerusalem, Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Angela Charlton in Paris, Paolo Santalucia in Rome, Suman Nishadham in Madrid, Elise Morton and Krutika Pathi in London, Jamie Keaten in Geneva, Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Fatima Khaled and Sam Magdy in Cairo, Ken Moritsugu in Beijing, Adam Schreck in Bangkok, and Rod McGuirk contributed to this report. In Melbourne, Australia.