Oman condemns US, Israel strikes, Iran retaliation

Pope Leo XIV voiced concern that the conflict involving Iran could spread across the Middle East and destabilize other countries in the region, including Lebanon.

"Reports from Iran and across the entire Middle East continue to cause deep dismay and raise the fear that the conflict will expand, and that other countries in the region, including dear Lebanon, may once again sink into instability," Pope Leo XIV said in a post on X.

"Let us pray together for the roar of bombs to cease, weapons to fall silent, and space to open for dialogue, in which people's voices may be heard," he added.

The Arab League condemned Iran’s escalation against civilian targets and vital facilities in the Persian Gulf, warning that the attacks could push the region onto a “dangerous trajectory.”

Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said the strikes on civilian targets and critical infrastructure were a grave strategic mistake and a reckless move that threatened regional stability.

The bloc said Iranian attacks on civilian facilities and infrastructure could widen the conflict and deepen hostility across the region.

Arab League foreign ministers are due to hold an emergency meeting on Sunday to discuss the escalating tensions.

Hossein Shariatmadari, editor-in-chief of the hardline Kayhan newspaper, said Tehran could demand compensation from countries that allowed the United States to use bases on their territory to attack Iran.

“Who said we should apologize to the countries of the region? They should apologize to us for giving bases to our enemy, the United States,” he said, responding to President Masoud Pezeshkian’s earlier apology to neighboring countries.

Shariatmadari added that “according to international law we can seek compensation from the countries that provided bases to the United States and from whose territory America attacked us.”

Israel’s military denied on Sunday that it had hit or targeted a desalination plant in Iran, after earlier reports and Iranian statements about damage to a water facility on Qeshm Island.

The denial comes after Iranian officials said a desalination plant on Qeshm had been struck, disrupting water supplies.

On Saturday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a US attack had struck a freshwater desalination facility on the island, saying, “Attacking Iran's infrastructure is a dangerous move with grave consequences. The US set this precedent, not Iran.”

Local officials in Hormozgan said the disruption to water supply in some rural parts of Qeshm had since been resolved and that water supply on the island was now stable.

Swiss Defense Minister Martin Pfister said the United States, Israel and Iran had all violated international law in the conflict, arguing that each had breached the prohibition on the use of force.

“The Federal Council is of the opinion that the attack on Iran constitutes a violation of international law,” Pfister said in an interview published on Sunday, referring to the Swiss cabinet.

“In our view it constitutes a violation on the prohibition of violence,” he added.

Pfister made clear he was referring not only to the attack on Iran but to all sides that had failed to comply with that prohibition, including Washington, Israel and Tehran.

“The Americans and Israel have attacked Iran from the air. In doing so, they, like Iran, violated international law,” he said.

He called on all parties to halt the fighting to protect civilians.

His comments add to broader European concern over the legal basis for the war. German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil said he had “serious doubts that this war is legitimate under international law” and rejected any potential German participation.

“I say clearly: this is not our war. We will not participate in this war,” Klingbeil said.

Spain has also denounced the US and Israeli bombings as reckless and illegal.