Feb 28 (Reuters) – Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran on Saturday, plunging the Middle East into a renewed military confrontation as President Donald Trump vowed to destroy Tehran’s missile arsenal and prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.
Below is international reaction to the attacks:
DMITRY MEDVEDEV, DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF RUSSIA’S SECURITY COUNCIL
“The peacemaker once again showed his face,” Medvedev, a former Russian president, said. “All negotiations with Iran are a cover operation. No one doubted it. No one really wanted to negotiate anything.”
“The question is who has more patience to wait for the inglorious end of their enemy. The USA is only 249 years old. The Persian Empire was founded more than 2,500 years ago. Let’s see in 100 years…”
LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER NAWAF SALAM
“I reiterate that we will not accept anyone dragging the country into adventures that threaten its security and unity.”
NORWEGIAN FOREIGN MINISTER ESPEN BARTH EIDE
“The attack is described by Israel as a preventive strike, but it is not in line with international law. Preventive attacks require an immediately imminent threat.”
FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON
Macron called for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council, saying the outbreak of a war between the United States, Israel and Iran has “serious consequences” for international peace and security.
“The current escalation is dangerous for everyone. It must stop. The Iranian regime must understand that it now has no other option but to engage in good-faith negotiations to end its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, as well as its actions to destabilise the region,” Macron said on X.
“This is absolutely essential for the security of everyone in the Middle East.”
SPANISH PRIME MINISTER PEDRO SANCHEZ
“We demand immediate de-escalation and full respect for international law,” Sanchez said in a statement posted on social media platform X.
UKRAINE’S FOREIGN MINISTRY
“The cause of the current events is precisely the violence and impunity of the Iranian regime, in particular the killings and repression of peaceful protesters, which have become particularly widespread in recent months,” the foreign ministry said.
(Compiled by Sam Holmes; editing by Barbara Lewis)
