Ruto breaks silence on escalating Middle East conflict

President William Ruto has publicly condemned the widening wave of missile and drone strikes battering countries across the Middle East, warning that the regional spillover poses a “grave threat to international peace and security.” 

In a statement on Monday, Ruto called for urgent multi-stakeholder engagement to de-escalate tensions as diplomatic and military pressure mounts across the region.

The Kenyan head of state’s remarks come amid one of the most serious escalations in Middle East hostilities in decades — a conflict that began with a joint military strike by the United States and Israel against Iran and has since widened across the Gulf.

Ruto said Kenya strongly condemns the strikes on the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain. 

He warned that the regionalisation of the conflict endangers global peace and emphasised that longstanding multilateral institutions remain indispensable frameworks for resolving the crisis. He further called for urgent and coordinated diplomatic engagement to avoid further escalation.

The conflict’s immediate trigger was a joint US–Israel military offensive against Iran launched on 28 February 2026, aimed at dismantling key military infrastructure and leadership figures within the Iranian state. 

The strikes marked a dramatic shift from proxy confrontations to direct coordinated action inside Iranian territory, sharply raising tensions across the region.

In response, Iranian forces launched waves of missile and drone attacks targeting military installations and strategic sites in several Gulf states that host US assets. The retaliation expanded the theatre of conflict beyond Iran and Israel, affecting countries across the Arabian Peninsula and disrupting air travel and commercial routes.

The president’s remarks reflect growing alarm over how a conflict that started on the borders of Iran and Israel has now drawn in states far beyond the original theatre of war, threatening regional and global stability.

Some civilian areas and airports have been affected, prompting airspace closures, travel disruptions and heightened regional tension.

This widespread tit-for-tat has disrupted normal life across the region and triggered airspace closures, leading airlines like Kenya Airways to temporarily suspend flights to destinations such as Dubai and Sharjah.

Alongside Gulf strikes, proxy conflicts are flaring. On 2 March 2026, the Iranian-aligned group Hezbollah in Lebanon launched rockets toward northern Israel, prompting Israeli airstrikes on positions in Beirut and southern Lebanon, marking a significant expansion of the broader crisis’s reach.

The rapid intensification of hostilities has prompted emergency sessions at international bodies like the UN Security Council and has drawn calls from world leaders for restraint and diplomacy to prevent even broader war.

With hundreds of thousands of Kenyan nationals employed in the Gulf region, the government has also issued advisories urging extreme caution, registration with local Kenyan missions, and compliance with host-country security directives.

The situation remains highly volatile with multiple fronts, strategic strikes, proxy escalations, and international diplomatic efforts, all unfolding simultaneously.

Kenya’s call for de-escalation reflects both a concern for global peace and a direct interest in protecting its citizens and economic ties in the region.

As the conflict continues, global markets, airline networks and diplomatic relations are likely to remain under significant strain.