Israel bans UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from entering country
Tel Aviv said the decision was taken because the United Nations chief did not ‘unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel’.
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Tel Aviv on Wednesday barred United Nations Secretary General António Guterres from entering Israel after he failed to “unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel”.
Iran on Tuesday launched at least 180 missiles into Israel, raising fears of an all-out war in West Asia. Iran’s response came as Israeli troops launched ground raids into Lebanon.
“I have declared UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres persona non grata [person who is not welcome] in Israel and banned him from entering the country,” Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz said. “Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel, as almost every country in the world has done, does not deserve to step foot on Israeli soil.”
On Tuesday, after Iran’s missile bombardment on Israel, Guterres said he condemned “the broadening of the Middle East conflict with escalation after escalation”.
Guterres did not name Iran or Israel in his post on X, which reiterated a call for a ceasefire amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the region.
Katz criticised Guterres for “his anti-Israel policy since the beginning of the war”.
Since Israel’s military offensive against Gaza began on October 7, the country has clashed with the United Nations on several occasions.
In January, Israel alleged that some employees of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, were involved in Palestinian militant group Hamas’ incursion...
