Israel has declared United Nations chief Antonio Guterres “persona non grata”, accusing him of failing to specifically condemn Iran’s missile attack on Israel.
“Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s hateful attack on Israel does not deserve to set foot on Israeli soil,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.
Iran fired Tuesday amid escalating clashes between its representatives in Lebanon, Hezbollah and Israel. Many were intercepted in mid-air, but some penetrated missile defenses. No casualties were reported.
“This is an anti-Israel secretary general who gives support to terrorists, rapists and murderers,” Katz said.
Katz added that Guterres, who he said supported “the killers of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and now Iran, the mothership of global terrorism, will be remembered as a stain on the history of the United Nations for generations to come.” .
Following the Iranian missile attack, Guterres condemned “the widening of the conflict in the Middle East”, denouncing “one escalation after another” in the region.
“This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire,” Guterres said.
Israel has been a harsh critic of the United Nations, with ties between the state and the international body souring even further after the U.N. .
Guterres has repeatedly called for a ceasefire to stop the fighting in both Gaza and Lebanon.