UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced the escalation of tensions Tuesday in the Middle East, especially between Iran and Israel.
“I condemn the broadening of the Middle East conflict with escalation after escalation,” Guterres wrote on X.
Urging that the escalations “must stop,” Guterres said, “We absolutely need a ceasefire.”
His statement came after Iran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel amid heightened tensions between the two countries.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCG) said the attack was in response to the assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoshan.
Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran last month. Nasrallah was killed Friday in Beirut, along with Nilforoshan.
TheI RGC warned that if Israel responds to the missile barrage, it will face more “crushing attacks.”
It said the attack was conducted with the support of the army and Defence Ministry.
Tensions have been running high between Tehran and Tel Aviv since the assassination of Haniyeh in the Iranian capital on Aug. 1. Iran had blamed it on Israel and vowed a stern response.
The assassination of Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike in a southern suburb of Beirut was followed by strong condemnation from Iran’s top leadership.
It is not yet known if the missiles fired toward Israel struck their targets and if there were any casualties or damages.
Before Iran’s attack, Israel had carried out a series of devastating blows in recent weeks against the leadership of Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. It then ratcheted up the pressure on the militant group – which has been firing rockets into Israel since the war in Gaza began – by launching what it said is a limited ground incursion in southern Lebanon.
Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the country’s air defences intercepted many of the incoming missiles, though some landed in central and southern Israel.
“This strike will have consequences,” he said. He said the attack had caused only “very few” injuries, but did not elaborate.
Israel and Iran have fought a shadow war for years, but rarely have they come into direct conflict.
Israel and the United States have warned there would be severe consequences in the event of an attack on Israel from Iran, which backs the militant group
Israel considers Iran to be its greatest foe over its nuclear program. Iran denies Israeli accusations that it is developing a nuclear weapon.
Moments before Iran launched its missiles, a shooting attack in Tel Aviv left six people dead, police said, adding that the two suspects who had opened fire on a boulevard in the Jaffa neighborhood had also been killed.
In the U.S., White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan called Iran’s missile attack a “significant escalation,” although he said it was ultimately “defeated and ineffective,” in part because of assistance from the U.S. military in shooting down some of the inbound missiles.
Iran launched another direct attack on Israel in April, but few of its projectiles reached their targets. Many were shot down by a U.S.-led coalition, while others apparently failed at launch or crashed in flight.
