World leaders condemn Iran’s attack on Israel

WASHINGTON - World leaders have urged Iran and Israel to step back from the brink after

Tehran fired a barrage of rockets at its arch-rival

.

Tehran said the attack on Oct 1 – which took place as Israel said it was mounting a ground offensive against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon – was in response to the killings of Iran-backed militant leaders.

It was the second time that Iran has directly attacked Israel, after a missile and drone attack in April in retaliation for a deadly Israeli air strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.

Iran’s armed forces on Oct 2 warned that direct intervention by Israel’s supporters against Tehran would provoke a “strong attack” from Iran on their “bases and interests” in the region. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the

country’s action was finished,

barring further provocation.

Washington said it would work with long-time ally Israel to

make sure Iran faced “severe consequences”

for the attack, as

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed retaliation.

As the attack unfolded, President Joe Biden ordered the US military to “aid Israel’s defence against Iranian attacks and shoot down missiles that are targeting Israel”.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the attack was “totally unacceptable”.

“Initial reports suggest that Israel, with the active support of the United States and other partners, effectively defeated this attack,” Mr Blinken said.

US Vice-President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, said on Oct 1 that Iran was a “dangerous” and “destabilising” force in the Middle East, and Washington was committed to Israel’s security.

The comments from Ms Harris, who faces Republican former president Donald Trump in the Nov 5 US election, came hours after Iran’s attack. No injuries were reported in Israel, and

Washington called Iran’s attack ineffective

.

“I’m clear-eyed Iran is a destabilising, dangerous force in the Middle East,” Ms Harris said. “I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist militias.”

She added: “I fully support President Biden’s order for the US military to shoot down Iranian missiles targeting Israel. Initial indications are that Israel, with our assistance, was able to defeat this attack.”

Ms Harris added that

Washington will work with its allies

to disrupt what she called Iran’s “aggressive behaviour”.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Oct 2 that he strongly condemns Iran’s missile attack.

He added that in a sign of France’s commitment to Israel’s security, it has mobilised its military resources in the Middle East.

Mr Macron reiterated France’s demand that Hezbollah cease its terrorist actions against Israel and its population, the French presidency said in a statement. He also wished for Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity to be reinstated in strict compliance with United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Oct 2 that the missile attacks were “unacceptable”, warning against an escalation into “full-on war”.

“Iran’s attack is unacceptable. We condemn this strongly. But at the same time, we would like to cooperate (with the United States) to defuse the situation and prevent it from escalating into a full-on war,” Mr Ishiba told reporters.

Mr Ishiba made the comments after a phone call with Mr Biden following his

appointment as Japanese prime minister on Oct 1

.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned Iran’s attack “in the strongest terms”.

During a call with Mr Netanyahu, Mr Starmer also “expressed the UK’s steadfast commitment to Israeli security and the protection of civilians”.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned the Iranian strikes and called for an end to the “spiral of violence” blighting the Middle East. Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said Madrid was issuing “a new call to all the actors, obviously including Israel, to show restraint and not escalation”.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock demanded that Iran end its missile attack on Israel: “I condemn the ongoing attack in the strongest possible terms.”

She added that “Iran must stop the attack immediately” as it was “leading the region further towards the abyss”.

After the wave of missiles, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the “broadening conflict in the Middle East”.

With Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah broadening alongside its ongoing war with Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza, Mr Guterres slammed “escalation after escalation” in the region.

“This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire.”

Israel has escalated its military campaign in Lebanon in recent days, killing hundreds and displacing more than a million people due to operations that Israel says are targeting Lebanese Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.

Israel's military campaign in Lebanon is in addition to its war in Gaza that followed a deadly Oct 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.

The war in Gaza has killed tens of thousands, according to Palestinian health authorities, displaced nearly everyone there, caused a hunger crisis and prompted genocide allegations that Israel denies. REUTERS, AFP