President Donald Trump’s decision to strike Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan on Sunday morning was met with muted approval from European allies and Arab states.
While China predictably teamed up with Iran, Russia, and Pakistan to condemn the U.S. action, European leaders were surprisingly vague in their response, urging ‘all parties’ to show restraint and find a diplomatic solution.
Arab states, fearful of seeing a nuclear-armed Iran, called for ‘de-escalation’ and more ‘diplomacy.’
China led the condemnation of the U.S. targeting of Iran’s nuclear weapons program. In its first statement following the strikes, Beijing claimed the action “seriously violates the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and international law and exacerbates tensions in the Middle East.”
China singled out Israel as the aggressor, calling for a “ceasefire.” “China calls on all parties to the conflict, especially Israel, to cease fire as soon as possible,” the statement added.
The South China Morning Post reported China’s reaction:
China condemned the United States for its weekend attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, describing them as serious violations of international law.In a brief statement on Sunday night, the Chinese foreign ministry said the bombing of the facilities, which were under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, seriously violated the United Nations Charter and its principles.It called on all parties, especially Israel, to cease fire as soon as possible, ensure the safety of civilians and start dialogue.“China is willing to work with the international community to uphold justice and restore peace and stability in the Middle East,” the ministry said.
Russia, which has a long history of nuclear cooperation with Iran, slammed President Trump’s decision to strike the regime’s nuclear weapons sites, the Euronews TV channel reported:
Russian officials on Sunday castigated the US for its missile strike against Iran’s nuclear plants, issuing veiled threats that Iran’s nuclear ambitions would not be thwarted and welcoming Tehran’s foreign minister for talks in Moscow. (…)A statement from Russia’s Foreign Ministry “strongly condemned” the airstrikes and called them a “a gross violation of international law, the UN Charter, and UN Security Council resolutions.”
The Iranian foreign minister told reporters that he was rushing to Moscow today for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Politico reported:
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday announced he will travel to Moscow in the coming hours for urgent talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, shortly after the United States launched airstrikes against three Iranian nuclear sites.Araghchi emphasized the “strategic partnership” between Iran and Russia. “We always consult with each other and coordinate our positions,” he told reporters in Istanbul, according to media reports.
China’s military ally, Pakistan, which on Saturday endorsed President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, praising his “decisive diplomatic intervention and pivotal leadership” during the recent military conflict with India, sharply criticized the U.S. decision to hit Iran’s nuclear sites.
“Pakistan condemns the US attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities which follow the series of attacks by Israel,” the country’s foreign minister said in a statement. “We are gravely concerned at the possible further escalation of tensions in the region.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for “diplomacy” and warned against “escalation” in the Middle East. He, however, acknowledged that the U.S. had apprised him ahead of the strike.
The BBC reported the British response:
Sir Keir Starmer has warned of a “risk of escalation” to the Middle East and beyond the region, as he calls for a return to the negotiating table after the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites overnight.The prime minister said he wanted to “reassure the British public that we’re doing everything we can to stabilise the situation” and find a diplomatic solution after the US bombed three sites.He added the government had “taken all necessary measures” to protect UK interests in the region but his focus was on de-escalation.Sir Keir said there was no UK involvement in the US action but he was told about it in advance.
France, while paying lip service to diplomacy, seemed delighted at the prospect of Iran losing its nuclear capabilities. French President Emmanuel Macron told Tehran to ‘resume diplomatic talks’ while his Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot urged “all parties to exercise restraint.”
“France has repeatedly expressed its very firm opposition to Iran’s access to nuclear weapons,” the French foreign minister said. “France is convinced that a lasting settlement of this issue requires a negotiated solution within the framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,” he added.
The French newspaper Le Monde reports:
President Emmanuel Macron planned to convene a meeting of the country’s defence council on Sunday, the presidency said. Macron, who spoke with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and the leader of Oman earlier on Sunday, “intends to continue his contacts with European partners and leaders in the region in the coming hours,” the presidency added.Later, Macron urged Tehran to resume diplomatic talks as he spoke to his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, the French presidency said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who last week praised Israel for doing the world a favor by taking up the ‘dirty work’ of dismantling Iran’s nuclear weapons program, called on Iran to heed President Trump’s advice and return back to diplomacy.
“According to his spokesman, Stefan Kornelius, Merz also urged Iran, “to immediately start negotiations with the US and Israel and come to a diplomatic resolution of the conflict,” Germany’s DW TV reported. “Kornelius said the German government believed that “large parts of the Iranian nuclear program had been affected by the airstrikes,” but added that a precise analysis of the damage would be possible later.”
Iran-sponsored murderous jihadist terror group Hamas condemned the”brutal U..S aggression” against the regime’s nuclear program.
“This brutal aggression, aimed a dismantling Iran’s nuclear program, was a dangerous escalation,” Hamas said. It was a “flagrant violation of international law, and a direct threat to international peace and security,” the terrorist group added.
Following Hamas’s condemnation and borrowing its talking points verbatim, the United Nations chief, Antonio Guterres, dubbed U.S. strikes against Iran’s nuclear weapons sites “a direct threat to international peace and security.”
British newspaper The Guardian reported:
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday branded the US strikes on Iran as a “dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge – and a direct threat to international peace and security.”“There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control – with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world,” Guterres said in a statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised President Trump’s decision to strike Iran’s nuclear sites, saying his decisive move will “change history.”
“Congratulations, President Trump. Your bold decision to target Iran’s nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history,” he said in a televised address.
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