According to António Guterres, the war in the Middle East has gone too far, is bringing increasing human suffering and may trigger an unprecedented global economic shock.
The war in the Middle East has spiraled “out of control”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday. He also criticized the parties to the conflict and warned that the longer it continues, the more human and economic losses it will cause. The AFP and AP agencies informed about it, writes TASR.
- UN Secretary General António Guterres called the war in the Middle East out of control.
- Guterres warned that the continuation of the conflict will bring increasing human and economic losses.
- The US and Israel have been urged to end attacks against Iran because of the consequences.
- French diplomat Jean Arnault was appointed UN special envoy for the conflict.
- Guterres rejected a repeat of the Gaza scenario in Lebanon and criticized Hezbollah’s attacks.
“This conflict has crossed borders that even the leaders themselves could not imagine,” Guterres told reporters. “The world is burning with a wider war, a rising tide of human suffering and a deeper global economic shock. It has gone too far,” he declared.
Challenge of the USA and Israel
The UN chief specifically called on the US and Israel, whose joint strikes on February 28 launched the war against Iran, to end combat operations in the face of rising casualties and increasingly devastating global economic consequences.
“My message to Iran is — stop attacking your neighbors,” Guterres said. He also announced that he had appointed French diplomat Jean Arnault as his special envoy to lead UN activities in the event of the conflict and peace efforts.
A threat to Lebanon
Guterres also said that fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah must not condemn Lebanon to the same fate as the Palestinian Gaza Strip, devastated by years of conflict.
“The Gaza model must not be repeated in Lebanon,” the Secretary-General said. “The war must end there as well. Hezbollah must stop carrying out attacks on Israel. And Israel must stop its military operations and strikes in Lebanon, which affect civilians the most,” he added.
