UN chief calls for maximum restraint after Iran’s attack on Israel

UN secretary general says the Middle East is ‘on the brink’ after Iran launched a direct attack on Israel

Iran’s drone and missile attack was revenge for an air strike on its embassy grounds in Damascus on April 1

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UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Sunday. Photo: AP

Published: 6:50am, 15 Apr 2024Updated: 1:48pm, 15 Apr 2024

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Sunday warned members not to further escalate tensions with reprisals against Iran, while the US warned the Security Council it would work to hold Tehran accountable at the UN.

Guterres, speaking to a meeting of the UN Security Council, told member states that the UN charter bars the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state as he also condemned Iran’s attack on Israel.

Iran launched a swarm of explosive drones and fired missiles on Saturday in its first direct attack on Israeli territory, risking a major escalation.

The attack was in response to a suspected Israeli strike on Iran’s embassy compound in Syria on April 1 that killed top Revolutionary Guards commanders and followed months of clashes between Israel and Iran’s regional allies, triggered by the war in Gaza.

The remains of a rocket booster near Arad, Israel. Photo: Reuters

“The Middle East is on the brink. The people of the region are confronting a real danger of a devastating full-scale conflict. Now is the time to defuse and de-escalate,” Guterres told the meeting, which was called after Iran’s attack. “Neither the region nor the world can afford more war,” Guterres said.

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