Guterres declared that the military escalation in the region undermines international peace and security, and recalled that all Member States must “respect their obligations under international law, including the Charter of the United Nations,” which prohibits “the threat of the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.”
The UN Chief called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a reduction in hostilities, warning that failure to do so risks a wider regional conflict with serious consequences for civilians and regional stability.
Risk of “destruction on an unimaginable scale”
Senior officials added their own responses on Saturday morning: Volker Türk, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said bombs and missiles are not the way to resolve differences but “only result in death, destruction and human misery.” Civilians, he noted, “end up paying the ultimate price.”
Türk called on all sides to return to negotiations to avoid a broader conflict that would mean more civilian deaths and “destruction on a potentially unimaginable scale, not only in Iran but throughout the Middle East region.”
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement that he was deeply concerned about the situation and urged leaders to “choose the challenging path of dialogue rather than the senseless path of destruction.”
Security Council emergency meeting scheduled
French President Emmanuel Macron called a Security Council meeting to discuss the attacks. The meeting is scheduled for 4 pm Eastern Time.
Follow the meeting live on UN News and UN WebTV