By Emeka Blast 
Photo credit: Getty Images
Nigeria condemns Iran launching of a fresh missile barrages at Israel early Saturday, the 14th day of June
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On saturday, June 14, Iran launched a two‐wave ballistic missile counterattack against Israel in retaliation for Israel’s unprecedented air campaign on June 12. According to the Israel Defense Forces, approximately 100 missiles were fired in two separate barrages, many of which were intercepted by Israeli air defenses and U.S. THAAD batteries deployed in the region. Iranian state media reported heavy losses among its senior leadership—including General Mohammad Bagheri and IRGC commander Hossein Salami—in the Israeli strikes, prompting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei to vow that Iran’s response would render Israel “helpless.”
In Abuja, the Federal Government condemned Israel’s preemptive strike on Iran as one that “has dangerously escalated tensions between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the State of Israel,” expressing “grave concern” over the intensifying hostilities and the risk to civilian lives and regional stability. In a statement issued by Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Kimiebi Ebienfa, the FG “calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and urges both parties to exercise utmost restraint in the interest of regional and global peace.”
Beyond condemnation, Nigeria has demanded that the United Nations Security Council step up diplomatic efforts to bring both sides back to the negotiating table. The FG reaffirmed its commitment to peaceful coexistence and multilateral diplomacy, pledging support for “all genuine efforts aimed at restoring calm and fostering peace in the region,” and stressing that “military action is not a substitute for negotiation.”
