UN chief denounces ‘any act of retaliation’ in Middle East as tension between Israel, Iran rise

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned “any act of retaliation” in the Middle East.

Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson to the UN boss, said in a statement “The Secretary-General reiterates that it is high time to stop the dangerous cycle of retaliation in the Middle East.”

Guterres urges the international community to work together to prevent any further development that could lead to devastating consequences for the entire region and beyond, Dujarric added.

“IAEA can confirm that there is no damage to Iran’s nuclear sites” and Director-General Grossi “continues to call for extreme restraint from everybody and reiterates that nuclear facilities should never be a target in military conflicts”, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a tweet following unconfirmed media reports that possible drone strikes had targeted the Iranian province of Isfahan, which is home to nuclear facilities and military garrisons.

In Geneva, too, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, urged all parties “to take steps to de-escalate the situation” rapidly.

“(We) call on third States, in particular those with influence, to do all in their power to ensure there is no further deterioration in an already extremely precarious situation,” said OHCHR spokesperson Jeremy Laurence.

Tension escalated between Iran and Israel on Saturday after Tehran launched a drone and missile attack in response to the April 1 attack on its consulate in Syria, which killed seven Iranian military officers, including two top-ranking commanders.

According to US media reports, Israel carried out a “limited strike” inside Iran early Friday morning. There have been no official comments from Israel yet.