ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Several Middle Eastern countries on Saturday condemned Israel’s pre-dawn airstrikes targeting Iranian military sites. Iraq called for an international effort to curb further escalations.
The Kurdistan Region Presidency called for restraint.
“We condemn the air strikes that targeted Iran this morning. We call on all parties to practice restraint and make every effort to prevent further escalation of clashes and tensions. The escalation of the war and its consequences threatens the stability of the entire region,” read a statement from the Kurdistan Region Presidency on X.
The Iraqi government also condemned the attack on Iran.
“The occupying Zionist entity continues its aggressive policies and widening the conflict in the region through blatant attacks that it carries out with impunity,” read a statement from Iraqi government spokesperson Basem al-Awadi.
He rebuked out the international community for its “silence” on Israel’s “brutal actions” and called for “comprehensive regional and international efforts to support stability in the region.”
Israel carried out strikes on Iranian targets in Tehran and several other provinces early Saturday morning, around 2 am local time. Israel said the strikes were in response to Iran’s attacks in the past.
Iran said Israel hit military bases in the capital Tehran, the western province of Ilam and southwestern province of Khuzestan. It claimed that the missiles were “intercepted” and that the damage was “limited,” reported the state-owned IRNA news agency.
Turkey also condemned the airstrikes and slammed Israel for bringing the region to the brink of a wider war.
“It is now clear that putting an end to Israeli terror in the region has become a historic task to ensure international security and peace. We therefore call on the international community to take immediate action to enforce the law and stop the Netanyahu government,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, UAE, Oman and Pakistan also condemned Israel’s attack.
Qatar, which enjoys good ties with Iran, voiced its “strong condemnation” of the Israeli strikes, calling them “a blatant violation of Iran's sovereignty.”
United States National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett told reporters that Israel’s action was “an exercise in self-defense and specifically avoided populated areas and focused solely on military targets, contrary to Iran's attack against Israel that targeted Israel's most populous city.”
He said the US calls on Tehran to put an end to its tit-for-tat attacks on Israel.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for de-escalation, saying Tehran should not respond.
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