Several Arab states have expressed “concern” following the US attack on Iranian nuclear facilities early on 22 June, which Tehran has reserved the right to respond to.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said it was “following with great concern the developments in the sisterly Islamic Republic of Iran” after “the targeting of Iranian nuclear facilities by the US.”
“The Kingdom calls for redoubling international efforts to reach a political solution that ends the crisis and opens a new page of stability in the region,” it added.
The Qatari Foreign Ministry also expressed “concern,” calling for the return to diplomacy and warning of “catastrophic repercussions” regionally and international.
Egypt said “political solutions are the only way to avoid further chaos and tension,” expressing “deep concern” over the situation.
The office of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani condemned the US attack.
“The Iraqi government expresses its deep concern and condemns the targeting of nuclear facilities within the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran … This military escalation poses a serious threat to security and peace in [the region] and seriously endangers regional stability,” it said.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was “gravely alarmed” by the US attack, calling it a “dangerous escalation.”
China “strongly condemned” the attack, while Russia called it an “irresponsible” and “gross violation” of international law.
The US currently has an estimated 60,000 military personnel deployed in the region. Prior to the attack on Iran, Washington had been beefing up its presence.
Over a dozen US military bases are situated across Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE.
The Islamic Republic had previously threatened that US bases were within its reach, and would be targeted if the US entered the war.
In a statement on Sunday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said “the number, spread and size of US military bases in the region are not strengths—they only double their vulnerability.”
“Washington’s repetition of its past failed follies reveals strategic weakness and blindness to regional facts. By directly attacking peaceful facilities, it has placed itself on the front line of aggression,” it went on to say, stressing that “Thanks to Allah and the IRGC’s full intelligence coverage, the {takeoff locations] of the aircraft involved have been identified and are under surveillance.”
“Today’s US terrorist assault entitles the Islamic Republic, under the legitimate right of self-defense, to employ responses that lie beyond the aggressor bloc’s deluded calculations. The invaders must await regrettable responses,” the IRGC added.
Earlier on 22 June, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that diplomacy is not an option at the current moment.
“My country has been invaded, and we must respond … We cannot ignore this issue. The door to negotiations should always remain open, but this situation does not exist now,” he said.
When asked if Tehran would respond by closing the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world’s liquefied natural gas passes on a daily basis, Araghchi said that Iran has a “variety of options available.”
The foreign minister is expected to head to Russia on Sunday for urgent talks with President Vladimir Putin.