Israel’s foreign minister has declared United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “persona non grata” and barred him from entering the country.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday accused Guterres of failing to “unequivocally” condemn Iran’s missile attack on Israel. Israel has persistently complained over the UN’s approach throughout its yearlong war in Gaza.
Katz added that Guterres, who he said supported the “murderers of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Huthis, and now Iran, the mothership of global terror, will be remembered as a stain on the history of the UN for generations to come”.
The attack came in response to Guterres’s statement regarding Iran’s missile barrage.
Following Iran’s missile attack on Israel late Tuesday, Guterres condemned the “broadening conflict in the Middle East”, slamming “escalation after escalation” in the region.
“This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire,” said Guterres.
Israel has been a harsh critic of the UN, with ties between the state and the international body souring even more after the October 7 Hamas attacks.
Guterres has repeatedly called for a ceasefire to halt the fighting in both Gaza and Lebanon.
