UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, condemned the military escalation, and warned that international peace and security were being undermined.
“The use of force by the United States and Israel against Iran, and the subsequent retaliation by Iran across the region, undermine international peace and security,” he said in a statement.
“I call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and de-escalation. Failing to do so risks a wider regional conflict with grave consequences for civilians and regional stability.”
At an emergency UN Security Council meeting in New York on Saturday afternoon, US Ambassador Mike Waltz said the strikes were “directed toward specific and strategic objectives: to dismantle missile capabilities that threaten allies, to degrade naval assets used to destabilise international waters, and to disrupt the machinery that arms proxy militias and to ensure the Iranian regime, never ever can threaten the world with a nuclear weapon”.
Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon said: “Israel together with the United States acted to stop an existential threat to Israel, to our allies, and to global stability.
“When a regime chants ‘death to Israel,’ ‘Death to America’, we take it seriously. We believe them and we act. Our objectives are clear.”
Russia, Iran’s ally, condemned the strikes. “The aggression that Iran was subjected to today has already resulted in an escalation in the region and could spill over far beyond its borders,” Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia warned.
Moscow earlier called on the international community to assess what it called “irresponsible actions aimed at undermining peace, stability, and security” in the Middle East.