Arab countries have united in condemnation of Israel’s attack on Iranian nuclear and military facilities and personnel.
Concerned that Israel’s attack could trigger fresh conflict across the already unstable region, Arab leaders with close ties to the West and different degrees of unilateral relations with Israel had no choice but to support Iran.
In recent years, Iran’s ruling Shia Muslim clerics have ceased efforts to export their 1979 revolution to the region and have cultivated good relations with Sunni Muslim and secular neighbours.
'A war that’s been planned for a decade' – why Israel has attacked Iran and what happens next
Seeking to assert Arab leadership, Saudi Arabia set the tone on Friday by referring to “the brotherly Islamic Republic of Iran” while condemning “these heinous attacks”. The kingdom, which has not normalised diplomatic relations with Israel, said that “the international community and the [UN] Security Council bear a great responsibility to immediately halt this aggression.”
After six years of estrangement over the Saudi execution of a dissident Saudi Shia cleric, Riyadh restored relations with Tehran in 2023, easing regional tensions.
Although it normalised relations with Israel in 2001, the United Arab Emirates was sharply critical of Israel’s strikes and stressed the need to “exercise utmost self-restraint and judgment and to mitigate risks and prevent the expansion of the conflict.”
Having negotiated ceasefires in the Gaza war between Hamas and Israel, Qatar’s foreign ministry denounced “the Israeli aggression against Iran [which] forms part of a recurring pattern of aggressive policies that threaten regional peace and stability, and hinders efforts aimed at de-escalation.”
The first Arab country to reach peace with Israel, Egypt stated, “This action jeopardises the wellbeing of the region’s peoples and threatens to plunge the entire region into overwhelming chaos.” It added: “There are no military solutions to the region’s crises, but rather that they must be resolved through political and peaceful means.”
Jordan, the second Arab country to make peace with Israel, directed its defences to intercept armed Iranian drones fired at Israel, while foreign minister Ayman Safadi posted a strong condemnation of the Israeli attack on X. He reiterated the kingdom’s support for the two-state solution, mandating the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel as the “only framework capable of delivering lasting peace and security for all parties”. The two-state solution is backed by Arab states and Iran but is rejected by Israel.
Iraqi prime minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani of Iraq, Iran’s sometime ally, condemned Israel’s “military aggression” against Iran and said it threatened “global security.”
The foreign ministry of Lebanon, which signed a ceasefire in Hizbullah’s conflict with Israel in November, said Beirut is “continuing its contacts to spare Lebanon any repercussions from this aggression”.
Having brokered five rounds of negotiations between Tehran and Washington on a deal limiting Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for lifting sanctions, Oman stated: “Israel is responsible for this escalation and its consequences.”
There is widespread concern among Arab states that Israel’s attacks could end this diplomatic effort.
