The United Nations has called on Iran and Israel to show restraint, with the threat of a full-scale direct conflict between the pair looming over the Middle East. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the adversaries at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Sunday not to further escalate tension in the region with further attacks, following mutual air attacks over the past two weeks. However, Iran and Israel concentrated on accusing one another of being a threat to peace. \u201cNeither the region nor the world can afford more war,\u201d Guterres told the meeting. \u201cNow is the time to defuse and de-escalate. \u201cIt\u2019s time to step back from the brink,\u201d he declared. Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel late on Saturday. The war in Gaza has triggered regular clashes between Iran\u2019s regional allies \u2013 such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis \u2013 and Israel. The direct attack, a retaliation to a strike \u2013 still unclaimed by Israel \u2013 on Iran\u2019s embassy compound in Syria on April 1, marked a serious escalation. At the meeting, Robert Wood, the deputy US ambassador to the UN, called on the 15-member body to unequivocally condemn Iran\u2019s attack. He insisted that the UNSC has an obligation to not let Iran\u2019s actions go unanswered and that the United States will explore additional measures in the coming days to hold Iran accountable. \u201cLet me be clear: if Iran or its proxies take actions against the United States or further action against Israel, Iran will be held responsible,\u201d he said. Heated words were exchanged between Iran and Israel at the meeting, with their representatives calling on the council to impose sanctions on one another. Iran\u2019s UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, said his country\u2019s action against Israel was necessary and proportionate. He claimed that the UNSC \u201cfailed in its duty to maintain international peace and security\u201d because it did not condemn the Israeli attack on its diplomatic mission in Syria. Tehran \u201chad no choice\u201d but to respond, he declared, adding that his country does \u201cnot seek escalation or war\u201d but will respond to any \u201cthreat or aggression\u201d. \u201cIt is time for the Security Council to shoulder its responsibility and address the real threat to international peace and security,\u201d Iravani said, urging it to \u201ctake urgent and punitive measures to compel this regime [Israel] to stop a genocide against the people of Gaza\u201d. Israel\u2019s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan told the meeting that Iran is \u201cthe number one global sponsor of terror\u201d and a \u201cpirate state\u201d. \u201cThe mask has come off and so the world\u2019s complacency must also fall,\u201d he continued. \u201cThe only option is to condemn Iran \u2026 and ensure that it knows that the world will no longer stand idle.\u201d \u201cThis attack crossed every red line and Israel reserves the right to retaliate,\u201d he stated. Erdan called on the UNSC to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran\u2019s elite military outfit, a terrorist organisation and to \u201cimpose all possible sanctions on Iran before it\u2019s too late\u201d. Iran launched its first-ever direct assault on Israeli territory late on Saturday in retaliation for a deadly Damascus strike, marking a major escalation of the long-running covert war between the regional foes. Its proxies and allies also carried out coordinated attacks on Israeli positions as sirens sounded in many places and AFP correspondents heard blasts in the skies above Jerusalem early on Sunday. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi warned Israel against a \u201creckless\u201d retaliation, saying one would be a met with \u201ca decisive and much stronger response\u201d. Iran had repeatedly threatened to strike Israel in retaliation for a deadly April 1 air strike on its Damascus consular annexe and Washington had warned repeatedly in recent days that the reprisals were imminent. The rising tensions between Iran and Israel come against the backdrop of Israel\u2019s six-month-old war on Gaza, which began after Hamas\u2019s October 7 attack in Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,139 people. Israel\u2019s offensive has killed at least 33,729 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the territory\u2019s Ministry of Health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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