BRUSSELS (AP) 鈥� How long will it last? Will it grow? What will the conflict and the reported death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah mean to us, and to global security overall? Those questions echoed across the Middle East and the planet Saturday as world leaders reacted warily to .
U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media that Khamenei was dead, calling it 鈥渢he single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country.鈥� Iranian state media said early Sunday the 86-year-old leader had died without elaborating on a cause.
Israeli officials previously told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that Khamenei was dead. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a televised address, said there were 鈥済rowing signs鈥� that Khamenei had been killed when Israel struck his compound early Saturday.
The apparent demise of the second leader of the Islamic Republic, who had no designated successor, would likely throw its future into uncertainty 鈥� and exacerbate already growing concerns of a broader conflict. The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting.
Perhaps cautious about upsetting already strained relations with Trump, many nations abstained from commenting directly or pointedly on the joint strikes but condemned Tehran鈥檚 retaliation. Similarly to Europeans, governments across the Middle East condemned Iran鈥檚 strikes on Arab neighbors while staying silent on the U.S. and Israeli military action.
Other countries were more explicit: Australia and Canada expressed open support for the U.S. strikes, while responded with direct criticism.
on Iran on Saturday, and called on the Iranian public to 鈥渟eize control of your destiny鈥� by rising up against the Islamic theocracy that has ruled the nation since 1979. Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. military bases in the Middle East.
Some leaders urge resumption of talks
In a statement, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on the U.S. and Iran to resume talks and said they favored a negotiated settlement. They said their countries didn鈥檛 take part in the strikes on Iran but are in close contact with the U.S., Israel and partners in the region.
The three countries have led efforts to reach a negotiated solution over Iran鈥檚 nuclear program.
鈥淲e condemn Iranian attacks on countries in the region in the strongest terms. Iran must refrain from indiscriminate military strikes,” they said. “Ultimately, the Iranian people must be allowed to determine their future,鈥� they said.
Later, at an emergency security meeting, Macron said France was 鈥渘either warned nor involved鈥� in the strikes. He called for intensified efforts for a negotiated solution, saying 鈥渘o one can think that the questions of Iran鈥檚 nuclear program, ballistic activity, regional destabilization will be settled by strikes alone.鈥�
The 22-nation Arab League called the Iranian attacks 鈥渁 blatant violation of the sovereignty of countries that advocate for peace and strive for stability.鈥� That coalition of nations has historically condemned both Israel and Iran for actions it says risk destabilizing the region.
Morocco, Jordan, Syria and the United Arab Emirates denounced Iranian strikes targeting U.S. military bases in the region including in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the Emirates.
Under former President Bashar Assad, Syria was among Iran鈥檚 closest regional allies and a staunch critic of Israel, yet a statement from its foreign ministry singularly condemned Iran, reflecting the new government’s efforts to rebuild ties with regional economic heavyweights and the United States.
Saudi Arabia said it 鈥渃ondemns and denounces in the strongest terms the treacherous Iranian aggression and the blatant violation of sovereignty.鈥� Oman, which has been mediating the talks between Iran and the U.S., said in a statement that the U.S. action 鈥渃onstitutes a violation of the rules of international law and the principle of settling disputes through peaceful means, rather than through hostility and the shedding of blood.鈥�
Careful wording is (mostly) the order of the day
New Zealand refrained from full-throated support but acknowledged Saturday that the U.S. and Israeli attacks were keeping the Iranian regime from remaining an ongoing threat. 鈥淭he legitimacy of a government rests on the support of its people,鈥� New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a joint statement. 鈥淭he Iranian regime has long since lost that support.”
Countries in Europe and the Middle East used careful wording, avoiding perceptions that they either support unilateral American action or are directly condemning the United States.
Others were more blunt. Russia鈥檚 Foreign Ministry 鈥渁 pre-planned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent U.N. member state.鈥� The ministry accused 鈥淲ashington and Tel Aviv鈥� of 鈥渉iding behind鈥� concerns about Iran鈥檚 nuclear program while actually pursuing regime change.
Similarly, China鈥檚 government said it was 鈥渉ighly concerned鈥� about the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and called for an immediate halt to the military action and a return to negotiations. 鈥淚ran鈥檚 sovereignty, security and territorial integrity should be respected,鈥� a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said.
Despite with the U.S., Canada too expressed its support for the military action. 鈥淭he Islamic Republic of Iran is the principal source of instability and terror throughout the Middle East,鈥� Prime Minister Mark Carney said.
And the U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, at the request of Bahrain and France.
Concerns expressed of 鈥榥ew, extensive鈥� war
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank said they were largely unfazed as war erupted Saturday, barely pausing as booms echoed across the sky from Israel鈥檚 Iron Dome intercepting missiles overhead.
Unlike Israel, Palestinian cities have no warning sirens or bomb shelters, despite the risk of falling debris or errant missiles. As people sheltered less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) away in Jerusalem, streets in Ramallah swarmed with shoppers browsing meat counters, vegetable stalls and Ramadan sweets, some stopping to record the sounds of distant sirens and missile interceptions.
But as Israel closed checkpoints to the movement of people and goods on Saturday, gas stations saw longer-than-usual lines as residents filled spare canisters in case of supply disruptions.
The Palestinian Authority, in a statement, condemned the Iranian attacks on Arab nations, many which have historically helped underwrite its finances. It made no mention of the Israeli or U.S. strikes.
Nervousness is perceptible across multiple countries. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that he was concerned the failure of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran meant a 鈥渘ew, extensive war in the Middle East.”
The Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons condemned the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in harsher words. 鈥淭hese attacks are totally irresponsible and risk provoking further escalation as well as increasing the danger of nuclear proliferation and the use of nuclear weapons,鈥� said its executive director, Melissa Parke.
EU leaders issued a joint statement Saturday calling for restraint and engaging in regional diplomacy in hopes of 鈥渆nsuring nuclear safety.鈥� The Arab League, too, appealed to all international parties 鈥渢o work toward de-escalation as soon as possible, to spare the region the scourge of instability and violence, and to return to dialogue.鈥�
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This story was first published on Feb. 28, 2026. It was updated on March 2, 2026, to make clear that a Russian statement on the strikes itself used Tel Aviv as a stand-in for Israel.
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Ciobanu reported from Warsaw and Metz from Ramallah. Associated Press writers Josef Federman in Jerusalem, Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Angela Charlton in Paris, Paolo Santalucia in Rome, Suman Naishadham in Madrid, Elise Morton and Krutika Pathi in London, Jamey Keaten in Geneva, Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Fatma Khaled and Sam Magdy in Cairo, Ken Moritsugu in Beijing, Adam Schreck in Bangkok and Rod McGuirk in Melbourne, Australia, contributed to this report.
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