By Janet Ekstract (Pia Bozyel) NEW YORK -On Sunday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sounded a warning on the current situation in the Middle East when he addressed the Security Council after Iran’s attack on Israel, “Neither the region nor the world can afford more war,” Guterres commented. The U.N. chief told the Security Council: “The Middle East is on the brink.” He also said: “The people of the region are confronting a real danger of a devastating full-scale conflict. Now is the time to defuse and de-escalate, adding “maximum restraint” is necessary. Analysts have been speculating about whether Iran’s attack on Israel and Israel’s attacks on Lebanon will lead to a wider conflict in the Mideast. Both the U.S. and Turkiye have been encouraging a de-escalation of the situation, calling on Israel to consider diplomatic options for a response to Iran’s attack rather than a military offensive which U.S. President Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that he will not participate in any offensive on Iran. Biden added that of course, if Israel is attacked, the U.S. would come to its defense.
Meanwhile, Israel’s war cabinet met for hours over the weekend and ended their meeting before 3:00 pm on Sunday to decide what their response would be to Iran. Diplomatic options are on the table, according to sources and the U.S. is pushing for Israel to use the diplomatic path rather than the military one. The latest news on Monday night reported by Axios is that Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant told U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that Israel has no choice and will respond to the Iranian attack, according to a U.S. official and an unnamed source. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. is coordinating a diplomatic response to prevent further escalation. The international community in a formal statement on Sunday, condemned Iran’s attack on Israel and said they stand with Israel to defend it. On Sunday, U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby spoke to the press, expressing Biden’s view and praising his leadership during these tense times. Kirby also revealed when asked, that a proposal for a six-week ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza is on the table. Kirby said “It’s a good deal, Hamas should take the deal.”
