EU's Borrell defends UN Chief Guterres, deplores attacks on his peace efforts

BRUSSELS

The European Union's foreign policy chief voiced support on Wednesday for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' efforts to secure peace, particularly in the Middle East, and condemned the "unjustified attacks" against him.

"We support the U.N. Secretary General @AntonioGuterres in his tireless efforts to achieve peace in all the conflicts and particularly in the Middle East," Josep Borrell wrote on X.

"We deplore the unjustified attacks against him as well as the unacceptable number of casualties among U.N. humanitarian workers," he added.

Earlier, Israel declared Guterres "persona non grata," banning him from the country after he called for urgent de-escalation in the Middle East.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz justified the decision, claiming Guterres did not "unequivocally condemn" Iran for its missile attack on Israel on Tuesday.

After the strikes, Guterres stated, "I condemn the broadening of the Middle East conflict with escalation after escalation" and urged an immediate ceasefire.

"Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran's heinous attack on Israel does not deserve to step foot on Israeli soil," said Katz in a statement.

"This is an anti-Israel Secretary-General who lends support to terrorists, rapists, and murderers," he said.

Katz added that Guterres, who he said supported the "murderers of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and now Iran, the mothership of global terror, will be remembered as a stain on the history of the U.N. for generations to come.”