In call to Iranian Foreign Minister, Guterres underlines need for de-escalation in the Middle East

Concern for the region

“During the conversation, the Secretary-General expressed his deep concern regarding the ongoing situation in the region,” said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric during his daily briefing in New York

“He reiterated his public message urging all parties to work towards de-escalation.”

Fears of ‘dangerous escalation’

On Wednesday the Secretary-General warned that an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon, the previous day that killed a senior Hezbollah commander, as well as the killing of a top Hamas leader in an attack in Iran’s capital, Tehran, “represent a dangerous escalation” in the Middle East.

These developments were happening at time when “all efforts should instead be leading to a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all Israeli hostages, a massive increase of humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza and a return to calm in Lebanon and across the Blue Line.”

Journalists asked Mr. Dujarric about the UN’s response to Iran, Hezbollah and Houthi rebels in Yemen threatening to react to the strikes.

“Our message is that these counterattacks, attacks, counterattacks, attacks and this endless cycle needs to stop,” he said. 

“We need to return to some sort of political negotiations on the various files 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, “notably regarding detained UN staff, who we want to see released as quickly as possible, if not, immediately”.

The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, have arbitrarily detained 13 UN staff for nearly two months, together with dozens of personnel from international and national non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society and private sector entities.

Four staff from the UN human rights office, OHCHR, and the UN educational and cultural agency, UNESCO, have also been held since 2021 and 2023, respectively.

The Houthis and Yemeni Government forces, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, have been battling since 2014.

Following the eruption of war in Gaza last October, the rebels have been attacking commercial ships plying the Red Sea.

Briefing the Security Council last month, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said “the regional dimension of the conflict in Yemen is getting more and more pronounced”. 

He was speaking a day after the Council met to debate the Houthi drone attack against Tel Aviv in Israel on 19 July, and the retaliatory Israeli airstrikes on Hudaydah Port in Yemen.