Anwar slams ‘outrageous’ Israel-US strikes on Iran

2026-03-02 - 05:14

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the government will ensure the safety of the 29,112 Malaysians currently in the Middle East. (Bernama pic) KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has slammed the US and Israel for their airstrikes on Iran, describing their actions as outrageous breaches of international law and United Nations charters. In a motion in the Dewan Rakyat condemning the Israel-US attack, Anwar urged all nations involved to commit to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, and to go back to holding constructive negotiations. “We call for immediate peacemaking with the cooperation of the Gulf nations. Go back to holding negotiations with one another and defend the independence and freedom of this region. “Otherwise, this will continue to happen in one nation after another, as Israel’s leaders have already mentioned, including their latest warning to Turkey. “In this case, there is no question that what has been done by Israel with the US’s support is clearly in violation of the principles of the world order,” he said. The US and Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran on Saturday, killing Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This prompted retaliatory strikes by Iran on Israel and several Arab countries, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Anwar said the government would ensure the safety of the 29,112 Malaysians currently in the Middle East, most of whom he said were in Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. “Many of them were left stranded due to the airspace closure and flight disruptions while some of them are living and working there. “Wisma Putra is closely monitoring the situation while staying in contact with our Malaysians there,” he said.