Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has called on the United States and Iran to immediately stop any further escalation and return to diplomacy, warning that the latest conflict risks drawing the wider West Asia region into a devastating war.
Anwar said the crisis could only be resolved through political and diplomatic efforts, stressing that the international community should not be forced to bear the consequences of a wider regional conflict.
“I am deeply concerned by the renewed escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran,” he said in a Facebook post today.
He said the latest exchange of attacks had gone beyond the parties directly involved and spread to other countries in the region, raising the risk of a much broader and more destructive conflict.
Anwar said countries with the greatest ability to influence the situation carried a particular responsibility to exercise restraint and prevent further escalation.
“The sovereignty of other countries cannot be disregarded. No military objective can justify exposing civilians to an expanding conflict,” he said.
He also warned that economic measures that place additional pressure on ordinary people while undermining diplomatic efforts could worsen the crisis instead of resolving it.
Anwar urged both Washington and Tehran to return to the understandings reached in June and give diplomacy another chance, stressing that continued escalation would only deepen the humanitarian and regional consequences. Malaysia has previously maintained that lasting peace in West Asia can only be achieved through dialogue, diplomacy and mutual respect.
