RIYADH: Saudi Arabia led Arab condemnation Israel’s strikes on Iran early on Friday, which targeted multiple sites it linked to the country’s nuclear program and killed at least two top military officers, raising the potential for an all-out war between the two bitter Middle East adversaries.
The strikes killed Hossein Salami, the chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, along with another top IRGC official and two nuclear scientists in the initial raids.
It appeared to be the most significant attack Iran has faced since its 1980s war with Iraq.
Saudi Arabia was the first Arab nation to speak out against the attacks, stating that the Kingdom “expresses its strong condemnation and denunciation of the blatant Israeli aggressions against the brotherly Islamic Republic of Iran, which undermine its sovereignty and security and constitute a clear violation of international laws and norms,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.
The statement added: “While the Kingdom condemns these heinous attacks, it affirms that the international community and the (UN) Security Council bear a great responsibility to immediately halt this aggression.”
The strikes came amid simmering tensions over Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program and appeared certain to trigger a reprisal, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warning that “severe punishment” would be directed at Israel. Hours later, Israel’s military said it had begun intercepting Iranian drones launched in retaliation.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military operation on Iran would “continue for as many days as it takes” to “roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival.”
Israel has declared a state of emergency in anticipation of retaliatory missile and drone strikes.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei meanwhile warned that Israel would suffer severe consequences after the deadly attacks.
“With this crime, the Zionist regime has set itself for a bitter and painful fate and it will definitely receive it,” Khamenei said in a statement.
Early speculation as to how aware US President Donald Trump was of the attacks soon came to an end after telling Fox News he had received “advanced notice”, stating that “Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table. We will see.”
Iran later said it would not be attending talks scheduled to take place in Oman.
