Anwar urges US and Iran to step back from brink as tensions rise in Middle East

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today expressed grave concern over mounting tensions between the United States and Iran, warning that the growing concentration of military assets and increasingly absolutist rhetoric risk pushing an already volatile situation towards open conflict.

He said any confrontation between Washington and Tehran would have repercussions across an already fragile Middle East, with the risk of proxy escalation, threats to maritime security and severe economic shock extending beyond the region.

“No strategic interest could justify such human and material devastation that such conflict would entail,” he posted on Facebook.

Anwar stressed that the imperative of peace must prevail over all other considerations, urging all parties to step back from the brink and recommit to diplomacy with seriousness and urgency, using all channels of communication to the fullest.

He also commended Oman’s constructive efforts to facilitate dialogue and urged countries with influence to use every available means to promote de-escalation and exercise utmost restraint in the interest of regional and international stability.

International media reported that the Iranian government is bracing for a fresh US and Israeli missile assault following the deployment of key assets from the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to the region. — Bernama