Middle Eastern countries demand emergency downgrade after Israel strikes against Iran
Countries across the Middle East have condemned Israel’s strike against Iran and called for an emergency downgrade because of concerns that the retaliation of TitTat could lead to a wider war with local impacts.
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Iran, killing high-level military and nuclear officials and targeting nuclear facilities, the worst Israeli attack ever. The Israeli military said Iran’s response was to launch at least 100 drones and ballistic missiles in the direction of Israel, most of which were shot down. Iran vowed to take revenge and the country’s top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threatened “hard punishment”.
Foreign ministries of the Gulf Cooperation Commission (GCC) countries (Bahrain) condemned the Israeli strike and urged diplomatic resolutions on the conflict. Lebanon and Jordan made similar statements.
The Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry said the Israeli attack on Israel “constituted a clear violation of international law and norms.”
Related: What did Israel attack in Iran, and who were the generals and nuclear scientists killed?
“Although the kingdom condemns these heinous attacks, it affirms that the international community and the Security Commission bear great responsibility for immediately stopping such aggression,” a statement from the Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said. Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan later called on his Iranian counterpart, urging “rejection of use of force.”
Although many states in the Middle East, especially in the Arab Gulf, have historically been hostile to Iran and its influence in the region, a full-body war between Israel and Iran is not in their interest.
The escalation threatened the regional impact, with Iranian missiles intercepted as rural areas in southern Syria, schools closed in southern Lebanon, and Jordanian jets fired drones and missiles.
In the past, Iran and its agents targeted oil facilities in Saudi Arabia and U.S. military personnel in the Middle East. The United States has military bases throughout the region, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the UAE. Iran’s ability to undermine oil trade, controls Hormuz’s strategic strait, and may threaten the economic interests of Gulf countries.
Iran supports militia networks throughout the region, such as Hossis in Yemen, the popular mobilizer forces in Iraq and Hezbollah in Lebanon, which may also be involved in the Iran war with Israel.
The militia is a central part of Iran’s defense doctrine, called strategic depth, relying on its allies and agents to establish a layer of defense and deterrence throughout the Middle East. Under this doctrine, attacks from neighboring Lebanon, Yemen or Iraq can be attacked.
However, nearly two years of fighting with Israel, Iran’s allies have severely weakened Iran’s allies. Hezbollah is Iran’s most important regional agent, with most senior leaders killed in Israeli strikes last fall and the Lebanese state has confiscated weapons caches.
Iran-backed militia showed no signs on Friday that they would be involved in the Iran-Israel conflict, sending relatively measured statements after the strike.
Hezbollah condemned the attack but said the group would not strike against Israel, while Huss said it “supports Iran’s defense of its rights.” Hezbollah and other members of the Iranian Axis were severely beaten during the battle with Israel and the fall of Iran’s Ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
The frigid reaction of Iran’s allied militia is in stark contrast to the first attack on Israel in April 2024, when drones and missiles were fired alongside themselves from Lebanon, Iraq and Syria.
