• Russia accuses Trump of sparking a new war, claiming strike would strengthen Iran’s leadership
• China strongly criticises US action, calls on all parties to immediately cease fire • UK supports strike, urging diplomacy
• UN chief urges all parties to exercise restraint and avoid further military confrontation

PARIS: In the aftermath of a US military strike on Iran, global leaders and international organisations have reacted with a mix of alarm, condemnation, and calls for restraint.

As tensions in the Middle East escalate rapidly, the world watches closely, fearing a broader conflict with far-reaching consequences.

Russia

A senior Russian official said on Sunday that US President Donald Trump had started a new war by attacking Iran that would only strengthen Tehran’s leaders by consolidating society around Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The Kremlin had repeatedly cautioned Washington that US strikes on Iran would plunge the entire region into the “abyss”.

“Trump, who came in as a peacemaker president, has started a new war for the US,” said Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, adding that “with this kind of success, Trump won’t win the Nobel Peace Prize”.

“Iran’s political regime has been preserved, and it is highly likely that it has become stronger,” Medvedev said. “The people are consolidating around the spiritual leadership, even those who did not sympathise with it.” Medvedev also said that Iran’s nuclear infrastructure did not appear to be affected by the US strikes, and that the US was in danger of being drawn into a ground operation.

Putin said that Israel had given Moscow assurances that Russian specialists helping to build two more reactors at the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran would not be hurt in air strikes.

Russia’s foreign ministry strongly condemned the US attacks which it said had undermined the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

“It is already obvious that a dangerous escalation has begun, fraught with further undermining of regional and global security,” it said. “The risk of the conflict spreading in the Middle East, which is already gripped by multiple crises, has increased significantly.”

China

China’s foreign ministry said it “strongly condemns” the US strikes, warning that they “escalate tensions in the Middle East”.

“China calls on all parties to the conflict, especially Israel, to cease fire as soon as possible,” the ministry said.

Britain

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called on Iran to “return to the negotiating table and reach a diplomatic solution to end this crisis”.

“Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and the US has taken action to alleviate that threat,” Starmer said on X, adding that “stability in the region is a priority”.

France

French President Emmanuel Macron has called a meeting of the country’s defence council for Sunday, with his office saying he had spoken with the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Oman on Sunday.

France is urging “all parties to exercise restraint to avoid any escalation that could lead to an extension of the conflict”, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot posted on X.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia expressed “great concern” after the strikes on its neighbour, the “sisterly Islamic Republic of Iran”.

“The Kingdom underscores the need to exert all possible efforts to exercise restraint, de-escalate tensions, and avoid further escalation,” the foreign ministry posted on X.

‘Declaration of war’

Yemen’s Houthi rebels condemned the US attacks and expressed solidarity with the Iranian people.

“The Trump administration’s reckless aggression... is a blatant declaration of war against the brotherly Iranian people. We declare our full support for the brotherly Iranian people,” it said.

The Palestinian group Hamas condemned the “blatant US aggression against the territory and sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran”.

“This brutal aggression is a dangerous escalation,” Hamas said, calling the attack “a flagrant violation of international law, and a direct threat to international peace and security”.

UN secy gen

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the strikes a “dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge”. “There is no military solution. The only path forward is diplomacy. The only hope is peace,” Guterres said in a statement.

The European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas called for de-escalation and a return to negotiations.

“I urge all sides to step back, return to the negotiating table and prevent further escalation,” Kallas wrote on X.

Published in Dawn, June 23rd, 2025