Countries in the Middle East and around the world were watching with bated breath after the United States and Israel carried out long-feared strikes on Iran on Saturday.

Trump: ‘annihilate’

US President Donald Trump vowed that the strikes would cripple Iran’s military and urged Iranians to rise up against the Islamic republic.

“We are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally — again — obliterated. We’re going to annihilate their navy,” Trump said in the address from his Florida home posted to his Truth Social platform.

Calling on Iranians to stand up to their government, Trump added: “The hour of your freedom is at hand.” But he also warned that “the lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties”.

Netanyahu ‘cast off the yoke’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation aimed to “remove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran”, and urged Iranians to overthrow the Islamic republic’s clerical leadership.

“Our joint action will create the conditions for the brave Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands,” Netanyahu added. “The time has come for all the people of Iran… to cast off the yoke of tyranny and bring about a free and peace-seeking Iran.”

Russia: Talks a ‘cover’

Russia called on its citizens to leave Iran, with former president Dmitry Medvedev saying that talks with the United States had just been a “cover”.

“The peacekeeper is at it again,” Medvedev, now the chair of Russia’s security council, said in a post on X.

“The talks with Iran were just a cover. Everyone knew that. So who has more patience to wait for the enemy’s sorry end now?” he added.

Qatar: ‘secure’

Qatar, which hosts a US military base, initially said it was secure after the US and Israeli attacks on neighbouring Iran but was monitoring developments closely.

“The situation inside the State of Qatar is stable and secure,” an interior ministry statement said.

An official later told AFP that Qatari defence systems had intercepted an Iranian missile, and the defence ministry said it had repelled “a number of attacks.”

Shah’s son: ‘final victory’ near - Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last shah and a leading critic of Tehran, said that “we are very close to final victory” following the strikes.

“I want to be by your side as soon as possible so that together we can take back and rebuild Iran,” said Pahlavi, who lives in exile in the Washington area and had repeatedly urged Trump to intervene.

Jordan: protect skies

Jordan’s military said its air force was at work on Saturday to protect the kingdom and its people while the strikes were ongoing.

“These sorties are part of aerial reconnaissance and inspection operations aimed at maintaining the safety of Jordanian airspace and ensuring that it is free from any attempts at infiltration or illegal activities,” a military source said, after sirens were reported in Amman.

France: safety a priority

France, which has several military bases in the Middle East, notably in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, said that Paris’s priority was the safety of its citizens.

“Obviously our priority in these sort of cases is the protection of our nationals, the protection of our forces in the region and the monitoring of the situation in real time, which we are doing,” Alice Rufo, minister-delegate to the Armed Forces and Veterans’ Affairs ministry, told France 2 television.

African Union: stability at risk

The African Union called “for restraint, urgent de-escalation and sustained dialogue” after the strikes, warning that conflict could risk harming people on the continent.

“Further escalation risks worsening global instability, with serious implications for energy markets, food security, and economic resilience — particularly in Africa, where conflict and economic pressures remain acute,” said the pan-African body’s head, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf.

Poland ‘prepared’

Polish staff at its embassy in Tehran were “safe” but the country is “prepared for various scenarios,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on X.

Netherlands: ‘restraint’

In a post on X, Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said: “The Netherlands calls on all parties to exercise restraint and prevent further escalation.

Stability in the region is essential.