United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said today at the emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that the Middle East is on the brink and that acts of revenge with the use of force are prohibited by international law, reported Reuters, quoted by BTA.
"The Middle East is on the brink. The people of the region face the real threat of a devastating full-scale conflict. Now is the time to defuse this threat and de-escalate tensions - a time to show maximum restraint," Guterres said in New York.
He reminded UN member states that the use of force against the territorial integrity and political independence of any country is generally prohibited.
"Responsibility must be shared for the immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, for the unconditional release of the hostages and for the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid," Guterres also stated.
The emergency meeting of the UN Security Council was called because of Iran's drone and missile attack on Israel last night, which was in response to an alleged Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital of Damascus on April 1. Senior commanders in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were killed in the attack.