The official called for maximum restraint and the urgent pursuit of diplomacy.

Addressing an emergency session of the UN Security Council on Friday, Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, said the Israeli strikes, which reportedly targeted sites including Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, mark a “dangerous new escalation” in an already volatile region.

Media reports suggest the attacks resulted in significant casualties, including the deaths of Hossein Salami, head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and several nuclear scientists. Civilian casualties have also been reported, with dozens feared dead. Airspace across much of the region has been shut down, and security forces remain on high alert.

Further Israeli strikes and retaliatory missile launches by Iran were reported late on Friday, with some of Iran’s missiles reportedly reaching Tel Aviv, intensifying fears of a broader conflict.

“The repercussions of the attacks are already reverberating,” DiCarlo told the Council. “I reaffirm the Secretary-General’s condemnation of any military escalation in the Middle East.”

She urged both sides to exercise “maximum restraint” and warned against a slide into a wider regional war. “We must at all costs avoid a growing conflagration which would have enormous global consequences,” she said.

DiCarlo also lamented the timing of the military action, which comes amid renewed diplomatic efforts, including a planned round of talks between the United States and Iran in Oman this weekend. Those talks now appear to be in jeopardy, with Iran reportedly pulling out in response to the strikes.

“A peaceful resolution through negotiations remains the best means to ensure the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme,” DiCarlo stressed.

The head of the UN-backed International Atomic Energy Agency also addressed the Council, warning of grave risks to regional stability and nuclear safety, given the nature of the targets struck.

The emergency session comes as tensions between Israel and Iran have reached their most volatile point in years, raising concerns among world powers about the potential for a full-scale conflict with far-reaching consequences.

--UN/ChannelAfrica-- 

Addressing an emergency session of the UN Security Council on Friday, Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, said the Israeli strikes, which reportedly targeted sites including Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, mark a “dangerous new escalation” in an already volatile region.

Media reports suggest the attacks resulted in significant casualties, including the deaths of Hossein Salami, head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and several nuclear scientists. Civilian casualties have also been reported, with dozens feared dead. Airspace across much of the region has been shut down, and security forces remain on high alert.

Further Israeli strikes and retaliatory missile launches by Iran were reported late on Friday, with some of Iran’s missiles reportedly reaching Tel Aviv, intensifying fears of a broader conflict.

“The repercussions of the attacks are already reverberating,” DiCarlo told the Council. “I reaffirm the Secretary-General’s condemnation of any military escalation in the Middle East.”

She urged both sides to exercise “maximum restraint” and warned against a slide into a wider regional war. “We must at all costs avoid a growing conflagration which would have enormous global consequences,” she said.

DiCarlo also lamented the timing of the military action, which comes amid renewed diplomatic efforts, including a planned round of talks between the United States and Iran in Oman this weekend. Those talks now appear to be in jeopardy, with Iran reportedly pulling out in response to the strikes.

“A peaceful resolution through negotiations remains the best means to ensure the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme,” DiCarlo stressed.

The head of the UN-backed International Atomic Energy Agency also addressed the Council, warning of grave risks to regional stability and nuclear safety, given the nature of the targets struck.

The emergency session comes as tensions between Israel and Iran have reached their most volatile point in years, raising concerns among world powers about the potential for a full-scale conflict with far-reaching consequences.

--UN/ChannelAfrica--