Middle East

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Security Council, in New York today:

The United States’ bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities marks a “perilous turn” in an already volatile region, Secretary-General António Guterres warned during an emergency meeting of the Security Council today. The United Nations’ top nuclear watchdog official also cautioned that violence could reach “unthinkable levels”, and that the global non-proliferation regime “as we know it could crumble and fall”.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ statement on Iran, today:

In Burkina Faso, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator today has allocated $5.9 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to address the most urgent needs of displaced people in the country. The new funding will be used to scale up life-saving assistance including food and shelter.

Meeting in the hours following Israel’s air strikes against targets in Iran, the Security Council today heard — and its members largely agreed — that de-escalation and diplomacy are imperative to avoid further strain in a region already groaning under the weight of compounding conflict.

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Chad, François Batalingaya, said today the country is in crisis with the east reaching a breaking point. Floods impacted nearly 2 million people last year; 3 million people are struggling to feed themselves. The $1.4 billion Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is only 9 per cent funded.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Ramiz Alakbarov of Azerbaijan as his new Deputy Special Coordinator and Resident Coordinator, Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.

The General Assembly today demanded that Israel, the occupying Power, immediately end the blockade in Gaza, open all border crossings and ensure that aid reaches the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip immediately and at scale.

Attacks by Ansar Allah — often referred to as the Houthis — against Israel and subsequent retaliatory strikes on infrastructure in Yemen continue, the head of the UN presence there told the Security Council today, as he urged humanitarian, economic and political action to alleviate the crisis before it is too late.

The Security Council today failed to adopt a resolution aiming to ameliorate the plight of civilians in Gaza, as the United States vetoed the measure despite affirmative votes by the other 14 members of the 15-nation organ.