UN chief urges Iran and Israel to ‘step back from the brink’

Unit­ed Nations Sec­re­tary-Gen­er­al Anto­nio Guter­res plead­ed with Secu­ri­ty Coun­cil mem­bers to avoid a “full-scale con­flict” in the Mid­dle East as ten­sions rise between Israel and Iran.
Guterres’s com­ments came after Israel called an emer­gency meet­ing with mem­bers Sun­day in the wake of Iran’s drone and mis­sile bar­rage against Israel. Most of the hun­dreds of drones and mis­siles were shot down by Israel and its allies, includ­ing Unit­ed States forces.
“The Mid­dle East is on the brink. The peo­ple of the region are con­fronting a real dan­ger of a dev­as­tat­ing full-scale con­flict,” Guter­res wrote on X, para­phras­ing what he told reporters at the scene. “Now is the time to defuse and de-esca­late. Now is the time for max­i­mum restraint. Now is the time to step back from the brink.”

The Mid­dle East is on the brink.The peo­ple of the region are con­fronting a real dan­ger of a dev­as­tat­ing fu …