Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has barred UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from entering the country, accusing him of bias against Israel.
“Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel, as nearly all the countries of the world have done, does not deserve to set foot on Israeli soil,” Katz said, calling Guterres “an anti-Israel secretary-general.”
Katz accused Guterres of supporting groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran, which he called the “mothership of global terror.”
The decision has further deepened the rift between Israel and the United Nations.
Iran launched massive missile attack on Israel, with Israeli PM vowing retaliation Tehran says its actions were ‘self-defense’ in compliance with international law.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi described Tuesday’s missile launches as an act of “self-defense” in accordance with UN law.
“Earlier this evening, we exercised self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter, targeting solely military and security sites in charge of genocide in Gaza and Lebanon,” he wrote on X.
The term “genocide” has been contested by Israel in regards to its activities in the Middle East, with Israel saying it takes care to protect civilian life in its military operations.
While Iran has accused Israel of carrying out attacks inside Iran before, most of Israel’s recent strikes have been against Iranian-backed groups, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Araghchi said that Tehran exercised “tremendous restraint” to “give space for a cease-fire in Gaza.”
He went on to say that no further attacks were planned.
“Our action is concluded unless the Israeli regime decides to invite further retaliation. In that scenario, our response will be stronger and more powerful.”
