United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses delegates during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following the U.S. attack on Iran’s nuclear sites, at UN headquarters in New York City, on June 22, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres warned Sunday (June 22, 2025) against yet “another cycle of destruction” and retaliation following the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which he said marked a “perilous turn” in the region.
“I have repeatedly condemned any military escalation in the Middle East,” the secretary-general told an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
Also read: Israel-Iran conflict updates
“The people of the region cannot endure another cycle of destruction. And yet, we now risk descending into a rathole of retaliation after retaliation,” he added.
Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), also called for restraint as he voiced fears over “potential widening” of the conflict.
“We have a window of opportunity to return to dialogue and diplomacy. If that window closes, violence and destruction could reach unthinkable levels, and the global non-proliferation regime as we know it could crumble and fall,” Mr. Grossi said.
Speaking to the Security Council by video link, he said there were visible craters at Iran’s key Fordo nuclear facility, “indicating the use by the United States of America of ground-penetrating munitions.”
But Mr. Grossi noted that no one had been able to assess the underground damage at Fordo.
He added that “armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place and could result in radioactive releases with grave consequences within and beyond the boundaries of the State which has been attacked.”
Published – June 22, 2025 11:12 pm IST
