In a post on X, United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert urged "all parties in Lebanon" to "prioritize, in words and actions, the need to shield the country and its people from unfolding regional developments".

The remarks come after Israel and the United States launched strikes against Iran.

Iraq's powerful pro-Iran group Kataeb Hezbollah warned Saturday it will start imminent attacks on U.S. bases after air strikes hit an Iraqi military base housing the group.

"We will soon begin attacking American bases in response to their aggression," the group said in a statement.

Saudi Arabia condemned Iranian attacks targeting its neighbors in a statement released by the kingdom’s official press agency Saturday, following a flurry of salvos across the Middle East as Israel and the U.S. bombed Iran.

"The kingdom strongly condemns and denounces in the strongest terms the brutal Iranian aggression and the blatant violation of the sovereignty of the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Qatar, the State of Kuwait, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan," said the statement.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Saturday that Lebanon refuses to be dragged into war, after Israel and the United States launched strikes against Iran.

Authorities fear Iran-backed Hezbollah could become involved in the conflict, which saw the U.S. and Israel bomb Iran on Saturday and Tehran respond with missile attacks.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday announced a major attack against Iran, vowing to "annihilate" its navy and missile sites and telling Iranians their "hour of freedom" had come from the Islamic republic.

In a video address after the United States and Israel started bombing Iran, Trump made clear that the goal was sweeping –- the toppling of the Islamic republic in charge since the 1979 revolution.

The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday, with Israel's public broadcaster reporting that supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been targeted, as the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the Islamic republic, said they had targeted the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, other American interests in the Gulf and Israel.

Real Madrid and Manchester City will face off in a Champions League knockout tie for the fifth season running after being drawn Friday to play each other in the last 16, while reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain will take on Chelsea.

The Spanish giants, record 15-time European champions, will host City in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu next month before travelling to England for the return the following week.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar are engaged in efforts to halt deadly fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan, a source with knowledge of the talks told AFP on Friday.

The diplomatic drive comes as fears of a spiraling conflict grew after Pakistan bombed major cities in Afghanistan, declaring that they were in an "open war" with the Taliban.

The leading candidate to become Iraq's next prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, met with U.S. diplomat Tom Barrack on Friday after refusing to withdraw his nomination despite the U.S. threatening to stop supporting the country if he returns to the post.

Barrack, the U.S. envoy to Syria and ambassador to Turkey, has recently visited Iraq multiple times to meet with senior officials.

France's agriculture minister said Friday she regretted the European Union's provisional application of a mammoth trade deal with the South American Mercosur bloc.

"It is a decision that I regret," Annie Genevard told reporters at the Salon de l'Agriculture following EU chief Ursula von der Leyen's announcement. "It is not in line with the respect that should have been shown for the European Parliament's decision."