Global jitters as UNSC convenes over another Gulf war

tribune.com.pk · Mar 1, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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Russia, China call strikes 'a pre-planned, unprovoked act' Agencies March 01, 2026 6 min read United Nations Security Council (UNSC). PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE UNITED NATIONS: World leaders on Saturday reacted warily to US and Israeli strikes on Iran that sowed concerns of a broader conflict. The UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting, called at the request of Bahrain and France. The meeting will take place at 4pm (local time, 2 am PST Sunday). United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the heads of UN agencies have condemned Saturday's joint Israeli and US attacks on Iran and the Iranian retaliatory strikes on Israel and the Persian Gulf Regions. "I condemn today's military escalation in the Middle East," the UN chief said in a statement as French President Emmanuel Macron called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security to address the strikes, which have targeted Iranian military and nuclear infrastructure. In his statement, Guterres, the UN chief, declared that the military escalation in the region undermines international peace and security, and recalled that all Member States must "respect their obligations under international law, including the Charter of the United Nations," which prohibits "the threat of the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations." He called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and de-escalation and warned that a failure to do so risks a wider regional conflict with grave consequences for civilians and regional stability. Senior officials added their own responses on Saturday morning: Volker Turk, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that bombs and missiles are not the way to resolve differences but "only result in death, destruction and human misery." Civilians, he noted, "end up paying the ultimate price." Turk called for all parties to return to negotiations in order to avoid a wider conflict that would mean further civilian deaths and "destruction on a potentially unimaginable scale, not just in Iran but across the Middle East region." World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement that he was deeply troubled by the situation and urged leaders to "choose the challenging path of dialogue over the senseless route of destruction." Perhaps cautious about upsetting already strained relations with US President Donald Trump, many nations abstained from commenting directly or pointedly on the joint strikes but condemned Tehran's retaliation. Similarly to Europeans, governments across the Middle East condemned Iran's strikes on Arab neighbors while staying silent on the US military action. Other countries were more explicit: Australia and Canada expressed open support for the US strikes, while Russia and China responded with direct criticism. The US and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday, and U.S. President Donald 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 U.S. and Iran to resume talks and said they favored a negotiated settlement. They said their countries didn't take part in the strikes on Iran but are in close contact with the U.S., Israel and partners in the region. The three countries have led efforts to reach a negotiated solution over Iran's nuclear program. "We condemn Iranian attacks on countries in the region in the strongest terms. Iran must refrain from indiscriminate military strikes. We call for a resumption of negotiations and urge the Iranian leadership to seek a negotiated solution. Ultimately, the Iranian people must be allowed to determine their future," they said. Later, at an emergency security meeting, Macron said France was "neither warned nor involved" in the strikes. He called for intensified efforts for a negotiated solution, saying "no one can think that the questions of Iran's nuclear program, ballistic activity, regional destabilization will be settled by strikes alone." 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. Countries that maintain diplomatic ties with Israel - including Morocco, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates - denounced Iranian strikes targeting U.S. military bases in the region including in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the Emirates. Saudi Arabia said it "condemns and denounces in the strongest terms the treacherous Iranian aggression and the blatant violation of sovereignty." Oman, which has been mediating the talks between Iran and the US, said in a statement that the US 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." 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 Washington and Tel Aviv of "hiding behind" concerns about Iran's nuclear program while actually pursuing regime change. 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. "Iran's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity should be respected," a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said. Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his country supports the United States in its effort to stop Iran from obtaining an atomic bomb. He described Iran's current leadership as a destabilizing force and noted two attacks on Australian soil that were blamed on Tehran. Last August, Australia cut off diplomatic relations with Iran and expelled its ambassador after accusing it of orchestrating two antisemitic attacks in the country. Despite recent tensions with the US, Canada too 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. Palestinians in the occupied West Bank said they were largely unfazed as war erupted Saturday, barely pausing as booms echoed across the sky from Israel's Iron Dome intercepting missiles overhead. Unlike Israel, Palestinian cities have no warning sirens or bomb shelters, despite the risk of falling debris or errant missiles. As people sheltered less than 10 miles away in Jerusalem, streets in Ramallah swarmed with shoppers browsing meat counters, vegetable stalls and Ramadan sweets, some stopping to record the sounds of distant sirens and missile interceptions. But as Israel closed checkpoints to the movement of people and goods on Saturday, gas stations saw longer-than-usual lines as residents filled spare canisters in case of supply disruptions. Nervousness is perceptible across multiple countries as people fear a full-scale war engulfing the region. 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 US and Israeli strikes on Iran in harsher words. "These attacks are totally irresponsible and risk provoking further escalation as well as increasing the danger of nuclear proliferation and the use of nuclear weapons," said its executive director, Melissa Parke. EU leaders issued a joint statement Saturday calling for restraint and engaging in regional diplomacy in hopes of "ensuring nuclear safety." "We call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint, to protect civilians, and to fully respect international law," the statement from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa said. The Arab League, too, appealed to all international parties "to work towards de-escalation as soon as possible, to spare the region the scourge of instability and violence, and to return to dialogue."