The United Nations has urged Iran and Israel to exercise restraint amidst the growing threat of a full-scale direct conflict in the Middle East. The Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, addressed an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, warning both nations not to further escalate tensions in the region through additional attacks. This comes after mutual air attacks over the past two weeks. Guterres emphasized that neither the region nor the world can afford another war, and it is crucial to defuse and de-escalate the situation.
Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel, which has led to regular clashes between Iran’s regional allies, such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis, and Israel. This direct attack marked a significant escalation, following an unclaimed Israeli strike on Iran’s embassy compound in Syria on April 1st.
At the meeting, the United States called for the UN Security Council to unequivocally condemn Iran’s attack and explore additional measures to hold Iran accountable. The US representative stated that if Iran or its proxies take actions against the United States or further actions against Israel, Iran will be held responsible.
Both Iran and Israel exchanged heated words at the meeting, accusing each other of being a threat to peace. Iran’s ambassador to the UN claimed that the UN Security Council failed in its duty to maintain international peace and security by not condemning the Israeli attack on its diplomatic mission in Syria. Israel’s ambassador to the UN called Iran “the number one global sponsor of terror” and urged the UN Security Council to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran’s elite military outfit, as a terrorist organization and impose all possible sanctions on Iran.
The rising tensions between Iran and Israel occur amidst Israel’s six-month-old war on Gaza, which began after Hamas’s October 7 attack in Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,139 people, mostly civilians. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 33,729 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
