UN chief urges end to Iran-Israel escalation: ‘Peace and diplomacy must prevail' - Region
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on Israel and Iran to halt their military attacks, warning against further escalation and urging a return to diplomacy.
'Israeli bombardment of Iranian nuclear sites. Iranian missile strikes in Tel Aviv. Enough escalation. Time to stop. Peace and diplomacy must prevail,' Guterres wrote on X on Saturday.
Hostilities began early Friday when Israel launched a wide-scale assault on military and nuclear facilities across Iran, including the Natanz uranium enrichment site. The strikes continued into Saturday.
Iranian state media reported the deaths of senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders and nuclear scientists. Among those named were IRGC commander Hossein Salami and nuclear physicists Mehdi Tehranchi and Fereydoon Abbasi.
Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on Israeli cities, killing at least three people and injuring dozens. Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has warned that Israel will 'definitely' face a 'bitter, painful fate' in retaliation.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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Trump didn't want Israel to strike. They did it anyway.
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Trump said early Friday his offer for diplomacy was still open, even as Iran vowed retribution for the killing of most of its top military leaders. 'I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal. I told them, in the strongest of words, to 'just do it,' but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn't get it done,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'Certain Iranian hardliner's spoke bravely, but they didn't know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse!' the president went on. 'There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end. Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left.' Whether Trump and Witkoff are successful in using the Israeli strikes as leverage for their diplomatic efforts with Iran remained an open question. 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