Countries across the Middle East are concerned about further escalation after the U.S. struck Iran, fearing retaliation could draw in Gulf Arab states.
Aya Batraway is an NPR International Correspondent based in Dubai. She joined in 2022 from the Associated Press, where she was an editor and reporter for over 11 years.
Ayesha Rascoe is a White House correspondent for NPR. She is currently covering her third presidential administration. Rascoe's White House coverage has included a number of high profile foreign trips, including President Trump's 2019 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Vietnam, and President Obama's final NATO summit in Warsaw, Poland in 2016. As a part of the White House team, she's also a regular on the NPR Politics Podcast.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the American operation an "outrageous, grave and unprecedented violation" of the United Nations Charter and international law.
As the world reacted to news of U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, international officials largely responded with alarm and calls for restraint.
The Pentagon provided a briefing on the U.S. airstrikes on Iran Sunday morning, after President Trump took direct action for the first time in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.