Iran says US strikes to have ‘everlasting consequences’ – DW – 06/22/2025

Kallas, a former Estonian prime minister, has held the post of top EU diplomat since 2024Image: Frederick Florin/AFP/Getty Images

The EU‘s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, has called on all sides in the US-Israel-Iran conflict to resume negotiations, while insisting that international security would be under threat if Iran developed a nuclear weapon. 

Kallas, who is also a vice-president of the European Commission, said in her post on X, formerly Twitter, that the EU’s foreign ministers would hold a meeting on Monday to discuss the current situation. 

“Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, as it would be a threat to international security. I urge all sides to step back, return to the negotiating table and prevent further escalation,” she wrote.

The Venezuelan government was forthright in its condemnation of the attacks.

Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said on the Telegram messaging app: “The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela firmly and categorically condemns the bombing carried out by the United States military, at the request of the State of Israel, against nuclear facilities in the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan complexes.”

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said his country also vehemently opposed what he said was “a dangerous escalation” that “plunges humanity into a crisis with irreversible consequences.”  

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters spoke of a crisis that was “the most serious I have ever dealt with,” while declining to say whether his country supported the US actions.

But, he said, “Diplomacy will deliver a more enduring resolution than further military action.” 

The Australian government said it would “continue to call for de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy,” saying it noted “the US president’s statement that now is the time for peace.”

“We have been clear that Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile program has been a threat to international peace and security,” the Australian government spokesman said.

Rafael Grossi, the chief of the UN atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), on Sunday announced that he is going to hold an emergency board meeting on Monday.

“In light of the urgent situation in Iran, I am convening an emergency meeting of the [International Atomic Energy Agency] Board of Governors for tomorrow,” IAEA chief Grossi said on X.

 

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called on Iran to return to the negotiating table, while saying the US had “taken action to alleviate” the security threat posed by Tehran’s nuclear program.

“Iran’s nuclear programme is a grave threat to international security,” Starmer said in a statement on X. “Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and the US has taken action to alleviate that threat.”

Lebanon and Saudi Arabia have addressed the US strikes on Iran and what it means for stability in the region.

LebanesePrime Minister Nawaf Salam said that his country’s “supreme national interest” was to avoid being “drawn into the ongoing regional confrontation in any way.” 

Saudi Arabia also said it was following the US strikes on the “sisterly Islamic Republic of Iran” with great concern, in a Foreign Ministry statement on X.

The ministry expressed “the need to exert all efforts to exercise restraint, de escalate, and avoid escalation,” the statement added, urging the international community to increase attempts to find a political solution.

Iraq meanwhile slammed the US strikes on Iran, saying they “constitute a grave threat to peace and security in the Middle East and poses serious risks to regional
stability.”

Here’s a map of Iran’s three nuclear cites, which were all targets of the US’ strikes.

 

The United States has evacuated more personnel from its diplomatic mission in Iraq as part of its ongoing efforts to reduce staff from its embassy amid “regional tensions,” a US official said Sunday after Washington attacked Iranian nuclear sites.

“As part of our ongoing effort to streamline operations, additional personnel departed Iraq on June 21 and 22,” the US official told the French AFP news agency.

The evacuations were part of an ongoing process that started last week “out of an abundance of caution and due to heightened regional tensions,” he added.

The embassy and consulate in the Iranian neighbor are still operational.

The Israeli air force on Sunday announced that it had begun strikes against “military targets” in western Iran.

In a post on X, it also said that it had “struck missile launchers ready to launch toward Israeli territory, soldiers in the Iranian Armed Forces, and swiftly neutralized the launchers that launched missiles toward Israeli territory a short while ago.”

Two waves of missiles launched at Israel by Iran on Sunday morning have injured several people and caused damage on the ground, rescue services and the media said.

Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said in a statement that “11 people were taken to hospital, including: one in moderate condition, and ten others in mild condition.”

Images of a badly damaged building were shown by public broadcaster KAN 11, which said the impact had occurred in central Israel.

Iranian state radio said that Iran had launched some 30 missiles following the US attacks on nuclear facilities.

The Israeli military has since announced that the public is permitted to leave shelters in several areas.

 

Iran executed a man named Majid Moseybi who was convicted of spying for Israel and seeking to share sensitive information with its intelligence agency, the Mossad, the country’s judiciary news outlet, Mizan, reported on Sunday.

Mizan did not share details of Moseybi’s arrest. It said he had tried to provide the Israeli intelligence agency with “classified” information regarding “sensitive locations” and individuals who were targeted.

He was “hanged this morning after going through the full process of criminal procedure and after his sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court,” Mizan added.

The UN’s nuclear watchdog has said radiation levels have not increased outside the sites bombed by the US, even in Fordo, the hardest-hit target.

“Following attacks on three nuclear sites in Iran — including Fordo — the IAEA can confirm that no increase in off-site radiation levels has been reported as of this time,” it said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“IAEA will provide further assessments on [the] situation in Iran as more information becomes available.”

Following US strikes on Iran, Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Sunday called for the “urgent release” of the remaining hostages in Gaza.

Hailing the US attack in Iran, Herzog said in a post on X:  “This brave step serves the security and safety of the entire free world. I hope it will lead to a better future for the Middle East – and help advance the urgent release of our hostages held in captivity in Gaza.”

In his post, he thanked US President Donald Trump and said the decision to attack Iran’s nuclear sites was “a decisive moment between the axis of terror and evil and the axis of hope.”

The Israeli Defense Forces have said that Iran has launched missiles toward Israel, calling on the public to obey the instructions of the Home Front Command on seeking shelter.

The military warned that although the air force was “working to intercept and attack wherever necessary to eliminate the threat,” the protection was not “hermetic.”

Under the instructions, the public is required to go to “protected areas” and not leave them until given further notice.

 

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused the US of violating the UN Charter and international agreements with its bombing attacks on nuclear sites in his country.

“The United States, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has committed a grave violation of the UN Charter, international law and the NPT [Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons] by attacking Iran’s peaceful nuclear installations,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences, Araghchi said, stressing that “this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behavior” must alarm every UN member.

“In accordance with the UN Charter and its provisions allowing a legitimate response in self-defense, Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people.”