Medellin, Colombia — After U.S. and Israeli troops bombed Iran on Saturday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Donald Trump “made a mistake.”
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The Latin American leader, who met Trump in Washington earlier this month to ease tensions after the US president threatened to remove Petro from office by force, also called on the United Nations to “convene immediately and declare it is time for world peace.”
He added, “Nuclear weapons must not proliferate, and all existing weapons must be destroyed.”
Early Saturday morning, Trump announced a “large-scale and sustained” military operation is underway in Iran, following a major buildup of U.S. forces in the region over the past few weeks.
Dozens of missile attacks reportedly targeted military facilities across Iran, the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the office of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
This airstrike prompted Iran to retaliate against Middle Eastern countries where the United States has military facilities, including Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
Spanish news agency EFE reported that Iran’s Foreign Ministry said more than 50 girls were killed in an Israeli airstrike on an elementary school in southern Iran.
Colombia’s Petro lamented about X: “Missiles have killed more children.”
The left-wing president’s comments regarding U.S. military action in the Middle East appear to be more relaxed than in the past.
After the United States attacked Iran’s nuclear weapons infrastructure in June, Petro said “Iran is not developing nuclear weapons” and “the attack triggered the Middle East.”
Last September, the United States revoked Petro’s visa after he took to the streets of New York with a megaphone and urged the military to “disobey Trump’s orders” and “obey the orders of humanity.”
He called on the United Nations to muster a larger military force than the United States for the “salvation of the world,” and that its first mission would be “to liberate Palestine.”
Elsewhere in Latin America, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who has also faced threats of military intervention from Trump, said the attacks on Iran were a “clear violation of international law and the UN Charter” and that “the international community must act immediately to stop these attacks and prevent their escalation.”
Brazil’s Foreign Ministry also condemned the attack, saying, “The Brazilian government expresses serious concern about the attack carried out today (February 28) by the United States and Israel against targets in Iran. This attack occurred during ongoing negotiations between the two sides, which represent the only viable path to peace, a position Brazil has traditionally defended in the region.”
Meanwhile, Argentina’s president said in a statement that he was raising the threat level to the highest level and strengthening security around key infrastructure, borders and Jewish community centers.
Featured Image: The skyline after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, February 28, 2026.
Image Credit: Vahid Salemi through AP
