UN headquarters in New York

UN chief warns of wider Middle East war, urges de-escalation

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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press conference as part of his visit to Lebanon in Beirut, Lebanon, on March 14, 2026. [Houssam Shbaro – Anadolu Agency]

UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Thursday of the consequences of the war in the Middle East, saying it is causing widespread destruction and could expand into a full regional conflict.

Speaking to reporters at the UN headquarters in New York, Guterres said “the world is on the edge of a wider war that would engulf the Middle East with dramatic impacts around the globe,” noting that its impact is already being felt in many countries, “in the daily lives of people struggling with rising food and energy costs.”

He said “Every day this war continues, human suffering grows,” warning that any disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz would directly affect the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people.

Guterres added that attacks targeting civilians and infrastructure, along with rising food and energy prices, are placing increasing pressure on societies worldwide, stressing that continued escalation will only worsen the situation.

He called for an end to what he described as a “spiral of death and destruction”, urging the protection of civilians and vital facilities, including nuclear sites, and the safeguarding of international maritime navigation.

READ: Iran publishes lists of regional bridges in possible ‘tit-for-tat’ retaliation after US-Israeli attack

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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