UNITED NATIONS
\nUN chief Antonio Guterres called for an end to the \u201csickening cycle of escalation\u201d in the Middle East on Wednesday, while specifically condemning Iran\u2019s latest missile attack after facing harsh criticism from Israel.
\nThe denouncement came after Israel\u2019s foreign minister said on Wednesday that he was barring UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from entering the country because he had not \u201cunequivocally\u201d condemned Iran\u2019s missile attack on Israel.
\nThe secretary-general was speaking at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, called after Iran on Tuesday launched a massive missile barrage at Israel, which has ramped up its offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon in recent days.
\n\u201cThis deadly cycle of tit-for-tat violence must stop,\u201d he said.
\nEarlier Wednesday, Israel had declared Guterres \u201cpersona non grata\u201d for failing to specifically condemn Iran\u2019s missile attack when he condemned on Tuesday the \u201cbroadening conflict in the Middle East.\u201d
\n\u201cAnyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran\u2019s heinous attack on Israel does not deserve to step foot on Israeli soil,\u201d said Foreign Minister Israel Katz in a statement.
\nGuterres addressed the diplomatic dust-up at the Security Council, saying \u201cas should have been obvious yesterday in the context of the condemnation I expressed, I again strongly condemn yesterday\u2019s massive missile attack by Iran on Israel.\u201d
\nThe UN chief also reiterated his call for a ceasefire.
\n\u201cSince last October, Israel has conducted in Gaza the most deadly and destructive military campaign in my years as secretary-general,\u201d he said.
\nIn a letter to the Security Council on Tuesday, Iran justified its attack on Israel as self-defence under Article 51 of the founding UN Charter, citing \u201caggressive actions\u201d by Israel including violations of Iran\u2019s sovereignty.
\n\u201cIran\u2026 in full compliance with the principle of distinction under international humanitarian law, has only targeted the regime\u2019s military and security installations with its defensive missile strikes,\u201d Iran wrote to the council.
\nBut Israel\u2019s UN Ambassador Danny Danon on Wednesday rejected Iran\u2019s claim of self-defence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS UN chief Antonio Guterres called for an end to the \u201csickening cycle of escalation\u201d in the Middle East on Wednesday, while specifically condemning Iran\u2019s latest missile attack after facing harsh criticism from Israel. The denouncement came after Israel\u2019s foreign minister said on Wednesday that he was barring UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from entering […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":409252,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-435168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n