UN chief warns world on ‘edge of a wider war’

UNITED NATIONS – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned Thursday that the Middle East conflict is teetering on the brink of a regional conflagration, urging an immediate halt to escalating military actions between Israel, the United States, and Iran.

“We are on the edge of a wider war that would engulf the Middle East with dramatic impacts around the globe,” Guterres told reporters in New York, his tone somber and urgent.

The secretary-general specifically called for a cessation of U.S.-backed Israeli strikes on Iranian targets, as well as an end to Iranian attacks on its neighboring countries. He emphasized that the recent exchanges of fire including drone and missile strikes, alleged assassinations, and retaliatory operations risk triggering a full-scale conflict drawing in major powers.

“Every act of retaliation begets another,” Guterres said. “The region is trapped in a cycle of violence that no one seems able to break. The only responsible path is de-escalation, restraint, and a return to dialogue.”

Guterres also reiterated his call for a ceasefire in Gaza, warning that the war there has already inflamed tensions across Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. He noted that the international community has a collective duty to prevent a wider war that could disrupt global energy supplies, trigger mass displacement, and lead to unprecedented humanitarian suffering.

The UN Security Council was set to hold an emergency session later Friday to discuss the escalating crisis, though deep divisions among its permanent members have so far prevented any unified action.

“The clock is ticking,” Guterres added. “We must step back from the edge before it is too late.”

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