Iranian allies, including China and Russia, condemned attacks launched by the US on Iranian nuclear sites late Saturday. The UN Security Council met on Sunday to discuss US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites as Russia, China and Pakistan proposed that the 15-member body adopt a resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Middle East.
Here’s what these countries said:
1. China says US credibility ‘damaged’
China said on Sunday the US attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities damaged Washington’s credibility and Beijing was concerned that the situation “may go out of control”, its state broadcaster reported, following a UN Security Council meeting on Sunday.
According to the state broadcaster CCTV, China’s UN Ambassador Fu Cong parties, especially Israel, “should immediately cease fire to prevent the situation from escalating and avoid the spillover of war.”
Iran was hurt, “but the United States’ credibility was also damaged- both as a country and as a participant in any international negotiations,” Fu said.
“China strongly condemns the US attacks on Iran and the bombing of nuclear facilities under the safeguards of the IAEA,” said China’s permanent representative to the United Nations Fu Cong at an emergency meeting of UN Security Council.
“Russia, China, and Pakistan have proposed a draft resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, protection of civilians, respect for international law, and engagement in dialogue and negotiation,” Fu was quoted by the Global Times as saying.
2. ‘Russia offered its mediation’
Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on the US airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities that “the US has opened a Pandora’s box” and “no one knows what new catastrophes and suffering it will bring.”
He said Russia condemns US’ “irresponsible, dangerous and provocative actions committed by the USA” against Iran. The Russian envoy also urged the Security Council members to “call a spade a spade” and condemn the attacks. “As if it were Iran and not Israel and the US that was escalating the situation,” he reportedly said.
He was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that Russia offered its mediation to the US to find a peaceful and mutually agreeable solution to Iran’s nuclear programme, but the United States, especially its leaders, are “clearly not interested in diplomacy today”.
“Unless we stop the escalation,” Nebenzia warned, “the Middle East will find itself on the verge of a large scale conflict with unpredictable consequences for the entire international security system, plus the entire world might end up on the verge of a nuclear disaster.”
3. Pakistan
Pakistan condemned on Sunday the strikes ordered on its neighbour Iran by Donald Trump. The comment came a day after Islamabad said it would nominate the US President for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Pakistan said Trump’s decision to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities violated international law and that diplomacy was the only way to resolve the Iran crisis.
“The unprecedented escalation of tension and violence, owing to ongoing aggression against Iran is deeply disturbing. Any further escalation of tensions will have severely damaging implications for the region and beyond,” Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs was quoted by Reuters as saying.
According to the report, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had telephoned Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and “conveyed Pakistan’s condemnation of the US attacks,” a statement from the Pakistani leader said.
Earlier on Saturday, Pakistan said it was nominating Trump as “a genuine peacemaker” for his role in bringing a four-day conflict with India to an end last month. It said he had “demonstrated great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship”.
4. Afghanistan
The spokesperson of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, condemned the United States’ airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. In a post on X, Balkhi expressed concern over the growing instability in the region.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, in continuation of the Israeli regime’s attacks, condemns the United States’ strikes on the nuclear facilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, & expresses concern over the growing instability in the region,” Balkhi posted.
“IEA-MOFA deems the violation of the national sovereignty & territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran as unacceptable, & calls on all involved sides to give diplomacy a chance in order to resolve the issue,” he added.
US bombs Iran
The US overnight dropped a series of bombs on several alleged nuclear facilities in Iran, joining Israel’s ongoing strikes within the country.
Iran responded with a barrage of missiles at Israel and promised retaliation against US interests in the region.
President Donald Trump said late Saturday (local time) that the US had “obliterated” Tehran’s key nuclear sites, joining Israel in the biggest Western military action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution.
