Guterres: Middle East teeters on the brink of the unimaginable
When conflicts cease to be local and begin to feed off each other, a region turns into a powder keg where one spark can trigger a chain reaction. UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the Middle East is moving towards a point of no return, where diplomacy gives way to chaos and political goals drown in confrontation itself. But even in this inferno, he believes, hope remains — if the parties return to dialogue and compromise before it is too late.
Addressing a high level Security Council meeting on the peaceful settlement of disputes on Thursday, Guterres said that conflicts in the region are growing in number, complexity, duration and scale, with a worrying disregard for international law, spreading impunity and violations going unpunished. "The situation is spiralling out of control. It is teetering on the brink of the unimaginable. The region is being dragged into an ever widening circle of confrontation. One crisis fuels another. One escalation triggers the next.
As this dynamic spreads, political objectives are increasingly overshadowed by confrontation itself," he said. Noting that there is no military solution to the conflict in Iran, Guterres said diplomacy is the only way forward. While diplomacy may not have prevented conflicts, it still has the power to stop them, the secretary general stressed.
Emphasising that the UN Charter remains humanity's best hope for peace, he called on Security Council members to "lead by example". "Geopolitical divisions are no reason for inaction or abdication. Most issues before the Council are complex. The best path to peace is compromise and finding common ground. I call on all members of this Council to show the spirit of compromise that peace requires. Keep channels of dialogue open and spare no effort to peacefully settle disputes, which is a founding principle of this organisation," he said.
The UN chief also noted that an estimated 1.4 million people in the Gaza Strip, or 70 per cent of the population, will face severe food shortages in the coming months. He called for strengthening the UN's mediation role and urged the Security Council to take decisive action as soon as possible to resolve the dispute by diplomatic means.
The Middle East has seen escalating tensions for years, with the war in Gaza and the standoff over Iran worsening the humanitarian crisis. The UN has repeatedly called for ceasefires, but the parties continue military operations.
As CCTV+ reports. Guterres stressed that without political will and real steps towards compromise, the region risks descending into an even broader confrontation, the consequences of which will be felt far beyond its borders.
