Pope Leo voices alarm over Iran, wider Middle East conflict

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.

Messages sent by residents to Iran International described explosions, reported strikes and military deployments across several cities in Iran on Sunday.

In Shahin Shahr near Isfahan, residents reported multiple explosions in the morning, including near a Revolutionary Guards center, the governor’s office and other locations.

Another message said a police station at the Attar–Modarres intersection and a Guards base were targeted around 9:15 a.m.

Residents also reported attacks on security and military facilities in other parts of Isfahan province. Messages described strikes on a police command building near City Center in Isfahan and on a police command office on Tohid Street.

Other reported targets included the Guards’ Saheb al-Zaman headquarters on Sofeh Boulevard opposite Al-Zahra hospital, a Basij intelligence district, a command headquarters and the Imam Ali barracks in Najafabad.

In nearby Fuladshahr, residents said Guards forces that had entered the Hijab stadium on Saturday were targeted.

Elsewhere, residents reported heavy bombing of army air and naval bases and other military facilities in Bushehr.

In Qom, one message said the Safaieh area was struck around 8 a.m.

Residents in Bandar Abbas reported hearing explosions since the morning and said military facilities at the western edge of the city had been hit by missiles.

Separate messages described security deployments in other cities. In Qazvin, police forces were reported stationed at the 22 Bahman stadium near a health center and a girls’ technical school.

In Tehran’s Sa’adat Abad district, residents said Imam Sadeq university and a nearby high school had been turned into military positions with checkpoints set up around them.

In Tabriz, residents reported government forces stationed at Imam Ali primary school in the Roshdiyeh area.