President William Ruto has condemned strikes on the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, warning the expanding Middle East conflict threatens global peace.
He urged urgent multi-stakeholder engagement and reaffirmed the role of multilateral institutions in de-escalating the crisis.
In a post on his X account on Monday, President Ruto said Kenya “strongly condemns the strikes on the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain in the evolving conflict in the Middle East.”
He cautioned that “the regionalisation of this conflict poses a grave threat to international peace and security,” underscoring growing fears that the crisis could spiral beyond its current theatre.
Describing the moment as critical, the President said, “At this defining and perilous moment in global history, longstanding multilateral institutions remain indispensable frameworks for the resolution of the current crisis in the Middle East.”
He called for restraint and dialogue, adding that Kenya supports “urgent multi-stakeholder engagement towards de-escalation” to restore stability in the region.
The United States and Israel on Saturday carried out coordinated military strikes on Iran, triggering explosions in Tehran and other major cities, leading to the killing of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Iranian state media on Sunday confirmed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed at his office in the Israeli-US attacks on Iran, following earlier reports of his killing by US and Israeli officials.
US President Donald Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform that 86-year-old Khamenei was killed in the joint US-Israeli strikes, which began early on Saturday.
“He was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do,” Trump wrote.
“This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country,” he said. “Hopefully, the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and Police will peacefully merge with the Iranian Patriots.”
While Iranian authorities have long planned for the possible killing of Khamenei in the event of a war with the US and Israel, his assassination injects new uncertainty into an unfolding conflict that has already spurred concerns that fighting could escalate and expand further.
The attacks followed weeks of rising tension and stalled talks over Iran’s nuclear programme, with both Washington and Tel Aviv saying the operation is aimed at stopping what they describe as an imminent threat.
