MOSCOW, March 3. /TASS/. The involvement of European forces in combat operations against Iran could lead to a world war, Armando Mema, a member of the Finnish national-conservative party "Freedom Alliance," wrote on social network X.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called on the international community to condemn the US and Israeli strike on hospitals and schools in Iran.
TASS has compiled the key facts about the global reaction to the escalation in the Middle East.
International law
The US and Israeli operation against Iran violates international law, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot has noted.
The French government believes that the US and Israeli operation against Iran "runs counter to international law," the government’s spokeswoman, Maud Bregeon, said during a broadcast on the RMC radio.
The US and Israel attacked Iran during negotiations, thus violating international law and causing tensions in the Middle East to intensify, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters.
The US military strike against Iran has no legal basis, Iran’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Amir Saeed Iravani, has stated.
Statements by EU countries
In a statement issued on March 1, the leaders of Germany, France and the UK threatened Iran with military measures unless it stops its strikes on their allies in the Middle East.
The leaders of the EU trio (Germany, France, UK) have expressed their "shock" at Iran’s missile strikes on facilities in the Middle East, "including those uninvolved in the US and Israeli operation."
France is going to enhance the readiness of France’s military forces in light of the current crisis, President Emmanuel Macron stated at a meeting of the National Defense council.
The UK has placed one of its Type-45 destroyers on high alert amid the escalation, the Emirati newspaper The National reported, citing RAF sources.
France is prepared to assist its allies in the Middle East in safeguarding their security amid escalating tensions following recent Iranian strikes, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Le Drian announced at a press conference.
According to him, the US and Israel should have discussed their military plans in relevant international forums, including the UN Security Council, thus legitimizing their actions and letting "everyone assume their share of responsibility."
According to German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, Germany will not join anti-Iran military action due to a "lack of appropriate military capabilities."
Iranian Ambassador to Austria Asadollah Eshraq-Jahromi was summoned to the Austrian foreign ministry on March 2, the Der Standard newspaper reported, citing sources in the ministry. According to the publication, during the conversation, Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger criticized Iran’s retaliatory strikes on facilities in the Middle East following the US and Israeli attack on Iran.
Support for Iran
The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement reaffirming Russia’s firm stance, condemning the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other Iranian officials, as well as the practice of political assassinations.
The member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization consider the use of force unacceptable and express serious concern over the developments around Iran, according to a joint declaration published on The Russian Foreign Ministry’s website.
Former US Vice President and ex-Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris spoke out against war with Iran, stating that the people of the United States have no desire for one.
Iran is not developing nuclear weapons, and China is insisting that the US and Israel stop the strikes, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters.
She added that Beijing consistently supports the peaceful settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue through dialogue and talks and respects Tehran’s right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
The Hungarian government condemned Iran’s strikes on the countries of the Persian Gulf in connection with escalation in the Middle East, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said.
The US and Israeli attack on Iran during negotiations which saw progress on certain issues was an act of betrayal, Devlet Bahceli, the leader of Turkey’s Nationalist Movement Party and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ally in the ruling alliance, said.
Sara Wagenknecht, the leader of the German party Sara Wagenknecht Alliance — Reason and Justice (BSW), has stated that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz must deny the US the use of its bases on German territory for strikes on Iran.
Neutrality
Astana is not taking sides in the Middle East conflict and advocates for resolving issues diplomatically, Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Alibek Bakayev told reporters.
Impossible to come up with a legal assessment of Israel and US’s actions in regard to Iran at the moment, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said, adding that she intended to discuss this issue with the US president during her official visit to Washington this month.
The Japanese government neither supported the most recent Israeli and US military strikes against nor condemned them. Japan holds the official stance stating the "inadmissibility of the development of nuclear weapons" by Iran and calls on Tehran to resolve the problem by diplomatic means.
Mass protests
Mass protests continue for three days in a row in the Jammu and Kashmir territories in India following the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the PTI agency reported.
One of the protest leaders, Mohammad Farooq Inqlabi, called Khamenei’s murder "extremely deplorable and dangerous for the global community."
Mass protests against the war in Iran took place in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia. According to a TASS correspondent, the protests were organized by the "Renaissance" political party demanding the removal of US refueling aircraft from Sofia’s airport.
Settlement proposals
Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are privately lobbying their allies to convince US President Donald Trump to reduce the military operation against Iran, Bloomberg reports.
Brazil’s leadership is monitoring the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East and considering potential diplomatic initiatives to promote a peaceful settlement, the Brasil 247 portal reported, citing sources close to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan stated that it is necessary to intervene in the developments around Iran to stop the conflict in the Middle East, warning that failure to do so is fraught with serious risk for the entire region, as well as global security.
Russia is ready to act as a mediator in the settlement of the crisis around Iran but the United States is unlikely to accept this, Russian Permanent Representative to the Vienna-based international organizations Mikhail Ulyanov said.
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud believes that Moscow can play a stabilizing role in the Middle East, the Kremlin press service reported following his phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov of Russia and Wang Yi of China have condemned the United States and Israel’s strikes on Iran and expressed their readiness to consolidate efforts to help stabilize the situation in the Middle East, the Russian foreign ministry said after their phone call.