NEW YORK(RAHNUMA): The UN secretary-general on Wednesday warned that the war in the Middle East has spiraled “out of control.”
Antonio Guterres urged an immediate halt to hostilities, called on Iran to stop attacking its neighbors, urged the US and Israel to end the war, and stressed that diplomacy remains the only path out of the crisis.
Speaking at the UN headquarters in New York, he said the conflict has exceeded even the worst expectations and risks triggering a global catastrophe.
“Just hours into the outbreak of the war in the Middle East, I warned that the fighting risked triggering a chain reaction that no one could control. More than three weeks on, this war is out of control,” he added.
“The conflict has broken past the limits even leaders thought imaginable. The world is staring down the barrel of a wider war, a rising tide of human suffering, and a deeper global economic shock.”
Guterres said “my message to Iran is to stop attacking their neighbors,” adding that the UN Security Council has condemned such attacks and demanded they end, while reaffirming that navigational rights and freedoms must be respected in key maritime routes, including the Strait of Hormuz.
The prolonged closure of the strait is “choking the movement of oil, gas and fertilizer at a critical moment in the global planting season,” he said.
“My message to the United States and Israel is that it is high time to end the war as human suffering deepens, civilian casualties mount, and the global economic impact is increasingly devastating.”
Declaring that “this has gone too far,” Guterres said: “It is time to stop climbing the escalation ladder and start climbing the diplomatic ladder and return to full respect of international law.”
He added that he has remained in close contact with regional and global actors, with several peace initiatives underway that “must succeed.”
He announced the appointment of Jean Arnault as his personal envoy to lead efforts on the conflict and its consequences.
Guterres highlighted the severe humanitarian toll across the region, saying civilians are bearing the brunt of the violence.
Following a recent visit to Lebanon, he warned that the situation there must not deteriorate further.
“There, too, the war must stop,” he said. “Hezbollah must stop launching attacks into Israel. And Israel must stop its military operations and strikes in Lebanon, which are hitting civilians the hardest.”
He added: “The Gaza model must not be replicated in Lebanon.”
Guterres warned of mounting global repercussions, with markets in turmoil and humanitarian operations increasingly constrained.
“On every front, the shockwaves are falling hardest on those who bear no responsibility for this conflict: the poorest, the most vulnerable, the least able to absorb yet another blow,” he said.
While the UN system is working to mitigate the fallout, “the best way to minimize those consequences is clear: End the war immediately,” he said.
“War is not the answer. We need a way out of this disaster. Diplomacy is the way out. Full respect of international law is the way out. Peace is the way out.”
