In call to Iranian Foreign Minister, Guterres stresses need for de-escalation in Middle East
That morning, Mr. Guterres had a conversation with the country’s Acting Foreign Minister, Ali Bagheri.
Concerns for the region
“During the conversation, the Secretary-General expressed his deep concern about the ongoing situation in the region,” speak UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric at a daily press briefing in New York
“He reiterated his public message calling on all parties to work towards the goal of de-escalation.”
Concerns about ‘dangerous escalation’
On Wednesday, the Secretary General warned that the Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon, the previous day that killed a senior Hezbollah commander, as well as the killing of a senior Hamas leader in an attack in the Iranian capital Tehran, “represent a dangerous escalation” in the Middle East.
These developments come at a time when “all efforts must instead be directed towards a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all Israeli hostages, a massive increase in humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza and the restoration of peace in Lebanon and across the Green Line.”
Journalists asked Mr. Dujarric about the UN’s response to threats by Iran, Hezbollah and Houthi rebels in Yemen to respond with airstrikes.
“Our message is that counterattacks, attacks, counterattacks, attacks and this endless cycle must end,” he said.
“We need to get back to some political negotiations on the different profiles in the region that are often intertwined in some ways.”
UN staff detained in Yemen
Mr Dujarric told reporters that the secretary-general and the Iranian foreign minister also discussed the situation in Yemen, “especially regarding the detained UN staff, whose release we want as soon as possible, if not immediately”.
The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, have arbitrarily detained 13 UN staff for nearly two months, along with dozens of staff from international and national non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society and private sector organizations.
Four staff members from the United Nations human rights office, OHCHRand the United Nations educational and cultural agency, UNESCOhave also been held since 2021 and 2023 respectively.
Houthi forces and the Yemeni government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, have been fighting each other since 2014.
After war broke out in Gaza last October, rebels attacked commercial ships traveling in the Red Sea.
Summary Security Council last monthUnited Nations Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, speak “The regional nature of the conflict in Yemen is becoming increasingly evident.”
He spoke a day after the Council met to discuss the Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv in Israel on July 19 and Israel’s retaliatory airstrike on Hudaydah Port in Yemen.
