'Dangerous escalation:' Nations react to US strikes on Iran with many calling for diplomacy
- Last updated: June 22, 2025 | 11:49
The US strike on Iran fueled fears that Israel's war with Tehran could escalate to a wider regional conflict, and other countries began reacting on Sunday with calls for diplomacy and words of caution.
The decision to directly involve the US comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country's air defences and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities.
But US and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and a 30,000-lb. bunker buster bomb they alone can carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily-fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear programme buried deep underground.
President Donald Trump had said on Thursday that he would decide within two weeks whether to get involved. In the end, it took just days, and Washington inserted itself into Israel's campaign with its early on Sunday attack.
It remained unclear early on how much damage had been inflicted, but Iran had pledged to retaliate if the US joined the Israeli assault.
Some have questioned whether a weakened Iran would capitulate or remain defiant and begin striking with allies at US targets scattered across the Gulf region.
Here is a look at reactions from governments and officials around the world.
Saudi Arabia expressed "great concern" on Sunday after US air strikes on nuclear facilities in its giant neighbour Iran.
"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is following with great concern the developments in the sisterly Islamic Republic of Iran, represented by the targeting of Iranian nuclear facilities by the United States of America," the Saudi foreign ministry posted on X.
"It expresses the need to exert all efforts to exercise restraint, de-escalate, and avoid escalation," the statement added, urging the international community to increase attempts to find a political solution.
Qatar, host of the biggest US military base in the Middle East, on Sunday said it feared serious repercussions after US air strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran.
The foreign ministry "warns that the current dangerous escalation in the region may lead to catastrophic consequences at both the regional and international levels", a statement said.
"It calls on all parties to exercise wisdom, restraint, and to avoid further escalation."
Oman, which was mediating nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran, on Sunday strongly condemned US strikes on nuclear sites in Iran.
The Gulf sultanate "expresses deep concern, denunciation and condemnation of the escalation resulting from the direct air strikes launched by the United States on sites in the Islamic Republic of Iran", the official Oman News Agency said.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Saturday accused Israel of leading the Middle East towards "total disaster" by attacking Iran on June 13.
Iran and Israel have been at war for nine days after Israel, claiming the Islamic republic was on the brink of acquiring a nuclear weapon, launched a massive wave of strikes on its arch-rival, triggering an immediate response from Tehran.
"Israel is now leading the region to the brink of total disaster by attacking Iran, our neighbour," Fidan told a meeting of top diplomats of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul.
"There is no Palestinian, Lebanese, Syrian, Yemeni or Iranian problem but there is clearly an Israeli problem," he said.
He called for an end to the "unlimited aggression" against Iran.
"We must prevent the situation from deteriorating into a spiral of violence that would further jeopardise regional and global security," he added.
Speaking after Fidan, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Western leaders of providing "unconditional support" to Israel.
A trenchant critic of Israel's actions in both Gaza and Iran, Erdogan called for "high-level peace talks" between Tehran and the United States, according to his office, adding that Turkey was ready to play a "facilitator" role to help bring an end to the war.
Tehran, however, has for the time being refused any return to the negotiating table with the United States on its nuclear programme for as long as Israel maintains its attacks on Iran.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi expressed Egypt's complete rejection of the ongoing Israeli escalation against Iran, as it poses a threat to the security and stability of the Middle East at a critical time when the region is experiencing multiple and escalating crises.
Speaking today by phone with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, President El-Sisi emphasised the importance Egypt attaches to an immediate ceasefire, allowing for the resumption of negotiations to reach a sustainable, peaceful solution to this crisis.
He also emphasised the importance of working to de-escalate the situation as much as possible and ensuring that the cycle of violence does not expand, noting that there are no military solutions to this crisis.
He affirmed that the only way to ensure sustainable stability in the Middle East is through the implementation of the two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in accordance with international legitimacy.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the US bombing could lead to a regional conflict that no country could bear and called for negotiations.
"Lebanon, its leadership, parties, and people, are aware today, more than ever before, that it has paid a heavy price for the wars that erupted on its land and in the region,” Aoun said in a statement on X. "It is unwilling to pay more, and there is no national interest in doing so, especially since the cost of these wars was and will be greater than its ability to bear.”
Lebanon’s new leadership, which came after Israel and the Lebanese group Hizbollah’s devastating war, has urged that the country avoids being dragged into more conflict as it tries to rebuild itself and pull itself from yearslong economic crisis. Hizbollah has not taken military action against Israel in solidarity with its key ally Iran in the conflict, but has not yet commented on Washington’s overnight strikes.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that Lebanon needs to stay away from any possible regional spillover from the conflict.
"It is increasingly important for us to adhere strictly to the supreme national interest, which is the need to avoid Lebanon being... drawn into the ongoing regional confrontation in any way,” Salam said in a post on X.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was "gravely alarmed” by the use of force by the United States.
"There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control -- with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world,” he said in a statement on the social media platform X. "I call on Member States to de-escalate.”
"There is no military solution. The only path forward is diplomacy.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for Iran to return to the negotiating table to diplomatically end the crisis, saying stability was the priority in the volatile region.
The UK, along with the European Union, France and Germany, tried unsuccessfully to broker a diplomatic solution in Geneva last week with Iran.
Starmer said Iran's nuclear programme posed a grave threat to global security.
"Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and the US has taken action to alleviate that threat," Starmer said.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters urged "all parties to return to talks.”
He wouldn't tell reporters Sunday whether New Zealand supported President Trump’s actions, saying they had only just happened.
The three-time foreign minister said the crisis is "the most serious I’ve ever dealt with" and that it was "critical further escalation is avoided.”
"Diplomacy will deliver a more enduring resolution than further military action,” he said.
Both the Houthi rebels in Yemen and Hamas have condemned the US strikes. The Houthis vowed to support Iran in its fight against "the Zionist and American aggression.”
In a statement on Sunday, the Houthi political bureau called on Muslim nations to join "the Jihad and resistance option as one front against the Zionist-American arrogance.”
Hamas and the Houthis are part of Iran’s so-called "Axis of Resistance,” the collection of pro-Iranian proxies stretching from Yemen to Lebanon that for years gave Iran considerable power across the region.
A flash commentary from China's government-run media asked whether the US is "repeating its Iraq mistake in Iran.”
The online piece by CGTN, the foreign-language arm of the state broadcaster, said the US strikes mark a dangerous turning point.
"History has repeatedly shown that military interventions in the Middle East often produce unintended consequences, including prolonged conflicts and regional destabilisation,” it said, citing the American invasion of Iraq in 2003.
It said a measured, diplomatic approach that prioritises dialogue over military confrontation offers the best hope for stability in the Middle East.
South Korea’s presidential office held an emergency meeting on Sunday to discuss the potential security and economic ramifications of the US strikes.
National security director, Wi Sung-lac, asked officials to coordinate closely to minimise any negative impacts on South Korea, emphasising that the top priority is ensuring the safety of the South Korean people and the continuation of their stable daily lives, according to the presidential office.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told reporters Sunday it was crucial to calm the situation as soon as possible, adding that the Iranian nuclear weapons development also must be prevented.
Ishiba, asked if he supports the US attacks on Iran, declined to comment. He was speaking to reporters after an emergency meeting with officials from key ministries over the US military action.
Ishiba said officials are still assessing details and doing their utmost to protect the safety of the Japanese nationals in Iran, Israel and elsewhere in the region.
While the US attacks on Iran do not affect Japan’s stable energy supply for the time being, Ishiba said, he has instructed officials to "watch the development with a sense of urgency and take every precaution” to prevent an increase in oil and utility costs ahead of the summer when energy demand rises. Any conflict in the Middle East is a concern for resource-scarce Japan, most of whose oil imports come from the region.
Meanwhile, Japan’s largest-circulation newspaper Yomiuri has distributed an extra edition on the attack in Tokyo.
Australia, which shuttered its embassy in Tehran and evacuated staff on Friday, pushed for a diplomatic end to the conflict.
"We have been clear that Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programme has been a threat to international peace and security,” a government official said in a written statement. "We note the US President’s statement that now is the time for peace.”
"The security situation in the region is highly volatile. We continue to call for de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy.”
Agencies