World leaders react to US and Israeli strikes, death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei

TOKYO (AP) — As the war in the Middle East escalated broadly Monday, fear, anger and confusion echoed across the globe as leaders reacted to U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump, announcing the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, called the strikes in Iran “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country.”

Perhaps cautious about upsetting already strained relations with Trump, many nations did not comment directly or pointedly on the joint strikes but condemned Tehran’s retaliation. Other governments criticized Iran’s strikes on Arab neighbors while staying silent on the U.S. and Israeli military action.

Some countries, however, were more explicit: Australia and Canada expressed open support for the U.S. strikes, while Russia, China and Spain responded with direct criticism.

After the major U.S. and Israel attack s on Iran Saturday, Trump called on the Iranian public to “seize control of your destiny” by rising up against the Islamic theocracy that has ruled the nation since 1979. Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. military bases in the Middle East.

In a statement, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on the United States and Iran to resume talks and said they favored a negotiated settlement.

The three countries have led efforts to reach a negotiated solution over Iran’s nuclear program.

The Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry called for dialogue and urged “all the parties to prevent the conflict from further deterioration, thereby undermining international peace and security and affecting innocent civilians.”

Oman said in a statement that the U.S. action “constitutes a violation of the rules of international law and the principle of settling disputes through peaceful means, rather than through hostility and the shedding of blood.” But Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who had mediated nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran, said after the second full day of hostilities that “the door to diplomacy remains open.”

The 22-nation Arab League called the Iranian attacks “a blatant violation of the sovereignty of countries that advocate for peace and strive for stability.” That coalition of nations has historically condemned both Israel and Iran for actions it says risk destabilizing the region.

Top diplomats of six Gulf states called on Iran to immediately halt its attacks on their territories, which they said violated their sovereignty and threatened to undermine regional security and stability.

The foreign ministers of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain had a virtual emergency meeting Sunday following the U.S-Israel strikes on Iran that triggered a barrage of Iranian missiles on U.S bases and other civilian infrastructure, including airports, hotels and in some cases, residential areas.

Under former President Bashar Assad, Syria was among Iran’s closest regional allies and a staunch critic of Israel, yet a statement from its foreign ministry singularly condemned Iran, reflecting the new government’s efforts to rebuild ties with regional economic heavyweights and the United States.

Saudi Arabia said it “condemns and denounces in the strongest terms the treacherous Iranian aggression and the blatant violation of sovereignty.”

Some countries in Europe and the Middle East used careful wording, avoiding perceptions that they either support unilateral American action or are directly condemning the United States.

Others were more blunt.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry called the strikes “a pre-planned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent U.N. member state.” The ministry accused the U.S. and Israel of “hiding behind” concerns about Iran’s nuclear program while actually pursuing regime change.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Moscow was deeply disappointed to see the U.S. and Israel attack Iran despite the progress made in the U.S.-Iranian talks.

Similarly, China’s government said it was “highly concerned” about the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and called for an immediate halt to the military action and a return to negotiations.

Spain’s prime minister condemned the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, calling for immediate de-escalation and dialogue.

Despite recent tensions with the U.S., Canada expressed its support for the military action. “The Islamic Republic of Iran is the principal source of instability and terror throughout the Middle East,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said.

Australia’s Senate passed a motion welcoming the death of Iran’s supreme leader, but rejected a section congratulating the United States and Israel.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday played down growing worry about the economic impact on oil shipments from the Middle East in the wake of the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, saying Japan has oil reserves at home that can last for several months.

The Palestinian Authority, in a statement, condemned the Iranian attacks on Arab nations, many of which have historically helped underwrite its finances. It made no mention of the Israeli or U.S. strikes.

Nervousness is perceptible across multiple countries. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that he was concerned the failure of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran meant a “new, extensive war in the Middle East.”

The Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons condemned the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.

And EU leaders issued a joint statement Saturday calling for restraint and diplomacy in hopes of “ensuring nuclear safety.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said India was concerned about the crisis and called for dialogue to ease tensions.

Germany will not actively participate in military action against Iran but will consider defending its soldiers stationed on multinational military bases in Jordan and Iraq if they get attacked, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Monday.

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McNeil reported from Brussels. Associated Press writers Claudia Ciobanu in Warsaw, Sam Metz in Ramallah, Josef Federman in Jerusalem, Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Angela Charlton in Paris, Paolo Santalucia in Rome, Suman Naishadham in Madrid, Elise Morton and Krutika Pathi in London, Jamey Keaten in Geneva, Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Fatma Khaled and Sam Magdy in Cairo, Ken Moritsugu in Beijing, Adam Schreck in Bangkok, Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and Rod McGuirk in Melbourne, Australia, contributed to this report.