World Biz
World reactions to Iran strikes on Israel
Countries around the world condemned Iran’s strikes on Israel late Saturday, warning the attack threatened to further destabilise the Middle East.
Here are some of the main reactions so far:
– United States –
US President Joe Biden promised “ironclad” support for Israel after holding an urgent meeting with top security officials.
“I just met with my national security team for an update on Iran’s attacks against Israel. Our commitment to Israel’s security against threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad,” Biden said on X, posting a picture of the meeting in the White House Situation Room.
– Britain –
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in a statement condemned the “reckless” strikes, which he said “risk inflaming tensions and destabilising the region. Iran has once again demonstrated that it is intent on sowing chaos in its own backyard.”
– EU –
The European Union’s foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell condemned the strikes as “an unprecedented escalation and a grave threat to regional security” in a message on X.
– UN –
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned “the serious escalation represented by the large-scale attack launched on Israel by the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
“I am deeply alarmed about the very real danger of a devastating region-wide escalation,” he added, calling on parties to “avoid any action that could lead to major military confrontations on multiple fronts in the Middle East”.
– Egypt –
Cairo’s foreign ministry expressed its “deep concern” at the escalation of hostilities and called for “maximum restraint”.
The ministry’s statement also warned of the “risk of the regional expansion of the conflict”, and added that Egypt would be “in direct contact with all parties to the conflict to try and contain the situation”.
– Saudi Arabia –
The Saudi foreign ministry issued a statement voicing its concern at the “military escalation” and calling on “all parties to exercise utmost restraint and spare the region and its peoples from the dangers of war”.
It went on to urge the UN Security Council “to assume its responsibility towards maintaining international peace and security”.
– France –
France’s Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne on X said that “in deciding to take this unprecedented action, Iran has reached a new level in its acts of destabilisation and is risking a military escalation”.
– Germany –
Berlin’s top diplomat also warned the attack would have a destabilising effect, and urged Tehran to halt the strikes.
“We condemn the ongoing attack — which could plunge an entire region into chaos — in the strongest possible terms,” Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on X.
“Iran and its proxies must stop this immediately,” she continued, adding that Berlin stands “firmly by Israel”.
– Canada –
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa that his country “unequivocally condemns Iran’s airborne attacks”, adding: “We stand with Israel.”
“After supporting Hamas’ brutal October 7 attack, the Iranian regime’s latest actions will further destabilise the region and make lasting peace more difficult,” he added.
– Argentina –
The office of Argentine President Javier Milei expressed in a statement its “solidarity and unwavering commitment” to Israel in the face of the attacks.
It added that Argentina “emphatically supports the State of Israel in the defence of its sovereignty, especially against regimes that promote terror”, noting an Argentine court recently held Iran responsible for bomb attacks on the Israeli embassy and a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires in the 1990s.
– Italy –
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said his country was following the situation “with attention and concern” and was “ready to manage any kind of scenario”.
– Mexico –
Mexico’s government said it “condemns the use of force in international relations and calls on the parties to use self-restraint and seek solutions peacefully” to avoid a wider regional conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin aims to bolster the count of foreign students in the nation’s universities to at least 500,000 by 2030, as outlined in a decree setting forth national development objectives.
The decree stipulates, “The number of foreign students pursuing higher education in Russian higher learning institutions and scientific organizations should rise to at least 500,000 by 2030.”
As per the Russian Education and Science Ministry, the current tally exceeds 355,000 foreign students studying in Russian universities. Acting Minister Valery Falkov previously highlighted Russia’s position as the world’s sixth-largest host of foreign students.
TASS calculations reveal a notable surge of over 20% in foreign student enrollment across Russian universities over the past five years. Predominantly, foreign applicants admitted to Russian universities hail from China, Vietnam, former Soviet republics, as well as various Asian and Middle Eastern countries.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (25 April) called for speaking out against all forms of aggression and atrocities, and say ‘no’ to wars.
“We must speak out against all forms of aggression and atrocities, and say ‘no’ to wars,” she said adding that Bangladesh supports the UN Secretary General’s ‘New Agenda for Peace.
The prime minister was addressing the 80th Session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) held at the ESCAP Hall (2nd floor), United Nations Conference Center (UNCC) here.
She arrived in Bangkok on Wednesday on a six-day official visit to Thailand.
The PM said the pre-condition for sustainable development is lasting peace and security.
“We must settle regional disputes and tension through dialogue. Our mutual respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity must remain paramount,” she said.
Hasina called upon the Asia-Pacific region, especially ASEAN, to redouble their efforts to end Rohingya crisis as all efforts at regional connectivity, integration, and prosperity will continue to be marked by a missing puzzle without it.
“The origin of their crisis has been in Myanmar, and its solution also lies in Myanmar,” she declared.
“As long as that solution remains out of reach, all our efforts at regional connectivity, integration, and prosperity will continue to be marked by a missing puzzle. Let us redouble our efforts to put that puzzle back in place,” she said.
She said that in August 2017, when thousands of Rohingya men, women, and children from Myanmar fled to Bangladesh, Bangladesh offered them temporary shelter.
“With an ever growing population, this has now become one of the largest humanitarian situations in the world,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said that In the backdrop of ongoing armed conflicts in Myanmar, the Rohingya repatriation process is also getting delayed.
“This is creating serious security risks within and beyond our territories,” she said.
She called upon the Asia-Pacific region, especially ASEAN, to play a proactive role in resolving the volatile situation in Myanmar.
“We must ensure that the Rohingya can go back home in safety and dignity at the earliest possible,” she said.
The prime minister said that the Asia-Pacific region must stand united against its common enemies of poverty and hunger.
She said Bangladesh has reduced poverty from 41.51 percent to 18.7 percent between 2006 and 2022.
It also reduced extreme poverty from 25.1 to 5.6 percent during the same period.
“We remain confident about eradicating extreme poverty by 2030,” she said.
She mentioned that Bangladesh has made notable progress on food security, with focused interventions on maternal and child nutrition.
“Our current priority is to address inequalities through income distribution, asset ownership, and social protection,” she said.
The prime minister said that Asia-Pacific region must put up a united front in tackling the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and transboundary pollution.
“We need to push for ambitious climate financing goals beyond 2025 at COP-29. We need to cooperate on cross-border water management and air quality improvement. We must all prepare for growing extreme weather events,” she said.
In this connection, she suggested looking into Bangladesh’s experience in disaster risk reduction.
“We appreciate UN-ESCAP’s support in improving our early warning capabilities,” she added.
Briefly describing various development programmes and achievements of her govebrment, the prime minister said that much of the development gains are affected by climate impacts.
“As a low-lying delta, Bangladesh has no option but to invest heavily in climate resilience,” she said.
She mentioned that Bangladesh is already recognised as a global leader in climate adaptation.
“We are happy to share our traditional and innovative solutions with other vulnerable countries,” she said.
She said that Bangladesh has urged developed and emerging economies in the region to raise their time-bound emission reduction targets.
“For economies in transition, it is important to have a just energy transition.”
In Bangladesh, she said, “we are working on long-term energy security with a sound mix of clean and renewable energy.”
“We shall continue to do our part in pursuing a circular and low-carbon economic growth pathway.”
She underscored the need for increased and easy access to financing and technology from both the public and private sectors.
“I invite UN-ESCAP to help build the capacity of climate-vulnerable countries to mobilise adequate international climate financing.”
PM Hasina said that Bangladesh now provides critical links to the Trans-Asian Highway and Railway networks.
“Our physical and digital infrastructures are being developed to foster regional trade and connectivity.”
She said Bangladesh offers access to the Bay of Bengal for land-locked territories in its neighbourhood.
“We stand ready to work together with all regional partners through mutual understanding and cooperation,” said the prime minister.
The ongoing internet disruption, which began last night due to a cut in the country’s second submarine cable near Singapore, is expected to persist for at least 4-5 days, according to Mirza Kamal Ahmed, managing director (additional charge) of the Bangladesh Submarine Cables PLC.
Ahmed, the official of the state-owned bandwidth provider, informed The Business Standard that the international consortium is in search of a special purpose ship necessary for restoring the undersea cable.
“The exact duration cannot be specified,” he stated, adding, “Based on past instances, it is likely to take a minimum of 4-5 days.”
Internet users are experiencing significant disruption as the accidental cut in Bangladesh’s second submarine cable, South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 5 (SEA-ME-WE 5), is blocking Singapore-Kuakata traffic, the source of 1700 GBPS bandwidth.
“We are serving all our users with the help of other sources of bandwidth – the international terrestrial cable (ITC) and the first submarine cable,” informed Nazmul Karim Bhuiyan, secretary general of the ISP Association of Bangladesh.
However, he mentioned that users are encountering some lag on Saturday afternoon.
“As the main broadband usage peaks during the night, we could learn about the full extent of the disruption and any resulting delays tonight,” he added.
The Bangladesh Submarine Cables PLC (BSCPLC) has issued sincere apologies for the temporary inconvenience to its customers.
Efforts are underway to repair the cable through the SEA-ME-WE 5 and restore connectivity promptly, stated the BSCPLC in a statement released today (April 19).
Currently, Bangladesh requires around 5,200 GBPS of internet bandwidth, with half of the demand being met by ITC companies importing bandwidth from India.
For the remaining half of the demand, the country relies on the state-owned Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company.
The first submarine cable SEA-ME-WE 4, located in Cox’s Bazar, is presently supplying approximately 850 GBPS bandwidth.
