Madrid, Spain – Israel welcomed the overnight airstrikes by the United States on Iranian nuclear facilities, while Arab and Latin American nations condemned the move, whereas the United Nations and European Union urged restraint and renewed calls for a diplomatic solution.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi strongly condemned the strikes, accusing Washington of betraying diplomacy and violating international norms.

“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 by attacking Iran’s peaceful nuclear installations,” Araghchi said.

In contrast, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu applauded the US airstrikes, calling them a “bold decision” by President Donald Trump.

“Trump and I often say, ‘Peace through strength. First comes strength, then comes peace,’” he added.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “gravely alarmed” by the US airstrikes on Iran.

“There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control – with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world.”

“There is no military solution. The only path forward is diplomacy. The only hope is peace,” he said.

Pope Leo XIV expressed deep concern and urged global efforts to prevent further escalation in the Middle East.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen emphasized the importance of regional stability and international law.

“Iran must never acquire the (nuclear) bomb. Now is the moment for Iran to engage in a credible diplomatic solution. The negotiating table is the only place to end this crisis,” she said.

Several Western nations, including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Australia, and New Zealand, echoed calls for de-escalation and a negotiated resolution.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed the US strikes, citing Iran’s nuclear program as a “grave threat to international security.”

“Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon (…). We call on Iran to return to the negotiating table and reach a diplomatic solution to end this crisis,” Starmer said.

However, Araghchi reminded the UK and EU that it was Israel and the US that undermined diplomacy by attacking Iran.

“Last week, we were in negotiations with the US when Israel decided to blow up that diplomacy. This week, we held talks with the E3/EU when the US decided to blow up that diplomacy,” he said.

Several Arab nations, including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Oman, and Qatar, condemned the US strikes as a serious threat to regional stability and urged a diplomatic resolution.

Palestinian group Hamas denounced the US attacks as violations of international law, while Yemen’s Houthi rebels expressed support for Iran and threatened to target US ships in the Red Sea.

In Latin America, Mexico called for peace, while Chile, Venezuela, and Bolivia condemned the US airstrikes.

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Taipei, Taiwan – Taiwan reported the highest number of incursions by Chinese aircraft in the last eight months on Friday, a day after the island’s president called for “strengthened surveillance” in the face of Beijing’s military pressure around the territory.

In its latest daily report, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said that in the 24 hours to 6 am Friday, a total of 46 out of 50 aircraft, including fighter jets, bombers, drones and helicopters crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered the northern, southwestern, and eastern regions of Taiwan’s self-proclaimed Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).

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It is the highest number of incursion recorded since Oct. 14, when 111 Chinese warplanes crossed the Strait dividing line and penetrated the self-proclaimed ADIZ as part of the Joint Sword-2024B exercises, a large-scale military exercise around Taiwan.

“ROC (Republic of China, Taiwan’s official name) Armed Forces have monitored the situation and deployed CAP aircraft, Navy ships, and coastal missile systems in response to the detected activities,” the ministry said.

On Thursday, President William Lai, branded a “troublemaker” by Beijing, had asked the ministry and the National Security Team to step up monitoring and intelligence capabilities in response to China’s military activities.

“From the perspective of our country and even the Indo-Pacific region, it is worth paying special attention to the fact that China’s military pressure in the entire region of the first and second island chains has not slowed due to the situation in the Middle East,” he said.

“The actions of the two aircraft carrier groups of the Shandong and Liaoning in the relevant waters of the first and second island chains in the past few days have posed considerable risks for the Indo-Pacific region and have aroused the heightened concern of the international community.”

This intensification of Chinese air activity also occurred after the British patrol ship HMS Spey sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, a transit that Beijing called an “intentional provocation.”

Colonel Liu Runke, spokesman for the Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command, said in a statement Friday that the United Kingdom has distorted legal principles and misled the public with statements seeking to justify provocative actions that undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

These movements come amid heightened tensions between China and Taiwan, an island that has been autonomously governed since 1949 and considered a rogue province by the Chinese government.

China’s stated objective is to achieve “reunification” with Taiwan, a goal for which it has not ruled out the use of force.

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Tokyo, Japan – Japan expressed concern Friday over China’s increased military maneuvers near its territory, prompting it to protest to Beijing and to publish detailed information about these activities for the first time.

In recent weeks, the Chinese Navy’s two aircraft carriers, the Shandong and the Liaoning, have been conducting several simultaneous exercises in the Pacific, an unprecedented move.

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“Since the end of May, the Chinese Navy’s aircraft carriers Liaoning and Shandong have repeatedly carried out a total of 1,000 takeoffs and landings of Kansai fighter jets from the two ships up until yesterday,” Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said Friday, marking the first time Tokyo has released such data.

Nakatani said one of the vessels approached east of the island of Iwo Jima, and hosted more than 100 takeoffs and landings of fighter jets in waters within Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) around Okinotori, Japan’s southernmost island, about 1,740 kilometers south of Tokyo.

“This is likely an attempt to improve the operational capabilities of China’s Liaoning and Shandong, and their ability to carry out operations in distant areas,” according to the defense minister, who added Tokyo will continue to monitor and gather information on the two aircraft carriers’ activities.

China has asserted that the activities are in accordance with international law and has accused Japan of “dangerous operations.”

Nakatani’s appearance comes days after the Self-Defense Forces released a report with these and other details of the aircraft carrier maneuvers, including a detailed map of their movements and where some of the fighter exercises took place, as well as photographs.

Days earlier, on June 12, Tokyo had expressed its concern to Beijing over a recent incident in which a missile-armed Chinese fighter jet repeatedly shadowed a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) patrol plane while it was conducting surveillance duties on the high seas in the Pacific Ocean.

Amid these developments, and according to leaks from diplomatic sources to local media, the JMSDF destroyer Takanami sailed through the Taiwan Strait in apparent response to the incident.

Nakatani declined to confirm the veracity of this information on Friday, arguing that it is a matter for self-defense operations.

According to information reported by local news agency Kyodo, the Takanami entered the strait from the East China Sea on June 12 and spent more than 10 hours sailing south, after which it headed for waters near the Philippine island of Luzon. The entire transit was tracked and monitored by the Chinese military, according to the sources.

The Takanami conducted a joint maritime exercise with the Philippine navy last Saturday in an area of the South China Sea over which the Southeast Asian country claims jurisdiction, amid China’s escalating claims in those waters.

Japan has traditionally refrained from sending military vessels through the Taiwan Strait to avoid provoking China, but appears to have changed its stance in the face of Beijing’s growing assertiveness.

These latest developments also come at a heated geopolitical moment, with attention focused on the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, the latter an ally of China, and a pending US decision on whether or not to join the conflict.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier that US President Donald Trump will make a decision on the matter in the next two weeks.