UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned today that the escalation of the Israeli-Iranian conflict could spark a fire that no one will be able to control, and called on the warring parties and potential new participants in the confrontation"to give peace a chance", Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Guterres expressed this position to the UN Security Council.
Meanwhile, top European diplomats are meeting in Geneva today with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in an attempt to test Tehran's willingness to negotiate a new nuclear deal.
"There are moments when the choices we face... are decisive," Guterres said, quoted by DPA."Moments when the direction chosen will determine not only the fate of some countries, but potentially our common future. Such a moment has arrived," the UN Secretary-General continued."The world is watching with growing alarm. We are not moving towards crisis, we are rushing into it. Diplomacy is the only chance to prevent this. Let us not look back on this decisive moment with regret. Let us act responsibly and together to pull the region and the world back from the brink of the abyss," Guterres added.
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, called for no attacks on nuclear sites in Iran and for maximum restraint to be shown.
"Armed attacks on nuclear sites should never be carried out, this could cause a release of radiation with enormous consequences beyond the borders of the attacked countries," the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) told the UN Security Council."That is why I am again calling for maximum restraint," Grossi added, quoted by Reuters.
Meanwhile, reports have emerged that Israel today attacked the Iranian port city of Bushehr, which is home to the Islamic Republic's only nuclear power plant, DPA adds.
According to the Iranian news portal"Roydad24" (rouydad24), air defense systems in Bushehr were activated. So far, the site has not disclosed data on the target of the attack. Users on some social networks write that Israeli forces attacked an air base in Bushehr.
