World leaders react to Israel’s strikes on Iran

World leaders are calling for restraint after Israel launched a series of airstrikes on Iran early Friday morning, in an escalation of regional tensions.

Israel has said that the strikes were targeting Iran’s nuclear program. Leading nuclear scientists and high-ranking military officials were killed in the strikes, according to Iranian media.

While the U.S. did not partake in the strikes, President Donald Trump was briefed on them beforehand.

“We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. Washington, which has been carrying out negotiations to reach a new nuclear agreement with Tehran, has previously said it would prefer a brokered deal to an armed offensive.

As of the latest, Iran has launched around 100 drones toward Israeli territory that the Jewish state was working to intercept, according to an Israeli military spokesperson. A state of emergency was declared in Israel.

The attacks raised concerns about the potential for broader clashes and hostilities in the region that is already facing instability and conflict along the embattled Gaza Strip.

U.K. Prime Minister Kier Starmer on Friday said that the reports of strikes were “concerning” and called on those involved to “step back and reduce tensions urgently.”

“Stability in the Middle East must be the priority and we are engaging partners to de-escalate. Now is the time for restraint, calm and a return to diplomacy,” he said in a post on X.

British Foreign Minister David Lammy also said that any further escalation was “a serious threat to peace & stability in the region and in no one’s interest.”

The French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, struck a similar tone on Friday, also calling for “all parties to exercise restraint and to avoid any escalation likely to compromise regional stability.”

In a social media post, Barrot also noted that France had previously shared concerns about Iran’s nuclear program.

“We reaffirm Israel’s right to defend itself against any attack,” he said according to a CNBC translation. Barrot added that it was essential to ease tensions through diplomatic channels, and that France was committed to contributing to this.

German chancellor Friedrich Merz echoed this sentiment in a series posts on social media platform X, saying Germany was ready to influence the conflicting parties with all available diplomatic tools.

“We affirm that Israel has the right to defend its existence and the safety of its citizens. We call on both sides to refrain from steps that could lead to a further escalation and could destabilize the entire region,” he said, according to a CNBC translation.

“The goal has to remain that Iran does not develop nuclear weapons,” Merz added.

In Asia, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he condemned Israel’s attack, warning that it could further destabilize the region.

“Malaysia calls on Israel’s partners – especially those with influence and leverage – to apply maximum pressure to halt further aggression,” he said in a post on social media platform X.

China’s ministry of foreign affairs also called for de-escalation efforts and offered to help with any such efforts, according to a CNBC translation of a state media report.

Meanwhile, Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement that it condemned Israel’s strikes and that unprovoked attacks of sovereign United Nations members were “categorically unacceptable,” according to a Google translation.

Elsewhere, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that “the situation in the Middle East is dangerous.”

“Diplomacy remains the best path forward, and I stand ready to support any diplomatic efforts toward de-escalation,” she added in a post on social media platform X.

A spokesperson for United Nations General-Secretary António Guterres meanwhile said that the U.N. chief condemned “any military escalation in the Middle East” and called for “maximum restraint.”

“He is particularly concerned by Israeli attacks on nuclear installations in Iran while talks between Iran and the United States on the status of Iran’s nuclear programme are underway,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Numerous leaders from the Middle East region also shared reactions, as markets watch on for the possibility of a widening conflict.

Saudia Arabia’s foreign ministry said it denounced “the blatant Israeli aggressions against the brotherly Islamic Republic of Iran, which undermine its sovereignty and security and constitute a clear violation of international laws and norms.”

Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran have repeatedly been strained over geopolitical issues and rivalry around oil, but the two countries re-established ties in 2023.

The United Arab Emirates also condemned Israel’s strikes “and expressed its deep concern over the ongoing escalation and its repercussions on regional security and stability,” according to a statement by the country’s foreign ministry.

“The UAE emphasized the need to resolve disputes through diplomatic means rather than confrontation and escalation, and called on the United Nations Security Council to take urgent and necessary measures to achieve a ceasefire, and to reinforce international peace and security,” it said.

The UAE is one of a handful of Arab nations to have established partial of full diplomatic relations with Israel.

Elsewhere, the Qatari foreign ministry called the attacks “a blatant violation of Iran’s sovereignty and security, as well as a clear breach of international law and its established principles.”

Turkey meanwhile said that “Israel must immediately cease its aggressive actions that could lead to broader conflicts.” In a statement from its foreign ministry, Ankara, which has been vocally critical about the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu in the past, reiterated that it did “not want to see any more bloodshed and destruction in the Middle East.”