United Nations, (EFE).- The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres reiterated his call for a de-escalation of the conflict in the Middle East on Monday, following the weekend attack by the United States and Israel against Iran, and warned of the “growing” number of civilian casualties.
Guterres’ spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, made the statement during his daily press briefing, advocating for dialogue and a return to negotiations.
“The Secretary-General again calls for de-escalation, an immediate cessation of hostilities, and genuine dialogue and negotiations in line with the Charter of the United Nations. The risk of humanitarian fall out in the region is also growing faster,” his spokesperson declared.
Guterres previously called for an end to any conflict escalation at the emergency Security Council meeting held Saturday afternoon, hours after President Donald Trump announced the start of Operation Epic Fury, the name the Pentagon gave to the operation.
The Secretary-General, he said, is “particularly concerned” about the “growing” number of civilians being killed and the “destruction of civilian infrastructure.”
“International humanitarian law is clear: civilians must be protected at all times, and civilian infrastructure must be protected as well,” he asserted.
According to the spokesperson, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) team is prepared to respond quickly as needed.
Contact with affected leaders, no dialogue with Trump
Amidst the escalation, the UN Secretary-General has held conversations over the last 48 hours with several Middle Eastern leaders affected by the conflict, although he has not spoken with president Trump.
Spokesperson Dujarric informed that the last leader he spoke with was the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to whom he conveyed his condemnation of the recent attacks against his country.
The Secretary-General described Qatar as a “strong and valuable partner” of the UN and considered the attacks against it to be a “violation of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
They discussed the situation in the region and the “urgent need to end the current military escalation and a return to dialogue in the interest of regional stability,” according to a statement.
Over the weekend, Guterres also spoke with Oman’s foreign minister, Badr bin Al Busaidi. He thanked Busaidi for his role in mediating the negotiations. He also spoke with ambassadors of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Dujarric added.
However, the spokesperson stated that Guterres has not spoken with US President Donald Trump, nor did he mention Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
When asked why the Secretary-General had not spoken with the American president, Dujarric replied: “Diplomacy works a little more formally than reporting.”
The spokesperson asserted that the secretary-general finds the expansion of attacks to countries not involved in the initial attack particularly worrying, whether we’re talking about Gulf countries, Jordan, Syria, or Lebanon.
The United States and Israel launched a joint attack against Iran on Saturday, which resulted in the death of its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and much of his military leadership.
Following Khamenei’s death, Iran launched retaliatory attacks against Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and US bases in countries in the region.
The Iranian Red Crescent raised the death toll in Iran after two and a half days of attacks to 555 on Monday.
At the same time, the Iranian Ministry of Health raised the number of fatalities in the attack on the school in Minab, in the south of the country, during the offensive, to 180.
esc/dmv/mcd
