UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned Iran’s recent missile strikes on Israel during a UN Security Council meeting, emphasizing the need to end the cycle of violence in the Middle East, BBC reports.
Guterres’ condemnation followed backlash from Israel, which declared him persona non grata after he initially called for a ceasefire without explicitly denouncing the Iranian attack. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz criticized Guterres for his perceived anti-Israel stance, stating that anyone who does not condemn Iran’s actions should not be welcome in Israel. Guterres reiterated his strong condemnation of the missile attacks and criticized Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, describing them as “the most deadly and destructive” of his tenure.
The attack by Iran, part of a broader conflict involving Hamas and Hezbollah, involved 180 ballistic missiles being fired at Israel, most of which were intercepted. The violence stems from escalating tensions since Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel in October, which led to a large-scale Israeli military response in Gaza.
