Malaysia urges US and Iran to halt attacks and return to negotiations, says prime minister

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has urged the United States and Iran to stop any action that could further raise tensions and return to diplomacy and the understanding reached in June.

Anwar said Malaysia was seriously concerned about the renewed confrontation between the two countries. He warned that the latest exchange of attacks, which had spread to other countries in the region, risked pulling more states in West Asia into a worsening conflict.

“I am deeply concerned about the renewed tensions between the US and Iran. The world should not be forced to bear the consequences of a wider regional war. This conflict can ultimately only be resolved through political and diplomatic means,” he said in a Facebook post.

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I am deeply concerned about the renewed tensions between the US and Iran. The world should not be forced to bear the consequences of a wider regional war. This conflict can ultimately only be resolved through political and diplomatic means.

The two countries had exchanged direct attacks for the first time in a month, intensifying a geopolitical conflict that has already caused an economic deadlock. Iran was reported to have launched missiles overnight toward two US air bases in Jordan in response to US strikes on Iran’s Larak Island. Washington said it had bombed Iranian launchers used to deploy mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

Anwar said those with the greatest ability to shape the conflict had a particular responsibility to show restraint. “Those with the greatest capacity to shape developments have a particular responsibility to exercise restraint and prevent further escalation. The sovereignty of other countries must not be set aside,” he said. He added that economic measures imposing hardship on civilians and obstructing diplomacy could worsen the crisis rather than resolve it.

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Those with the greatest capacity to shape developments have a particular responsibility to exercise restraint and prevent further escalation. The sovereignty of other countries must not be set aside.