Israel declares UN chief Antonio Guterres persona non grata, bans him from entering the country

Foreign minister Israel Katz said, “Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran's heinous attack on Israel, as almost every country in the world has done, does not deserve to step foot on Israeli soil.”

Israel on Wednesday declared UN chief Antonio Guterres “persona non grata”, banning him from entering the country. The decision was taken by the Israeli foreign ministry for failing to unequivocally condemn Iran’s missile attack on Israel yesterday.

Foreign minister Israel Katz announced on social media that he has declared Guterres a “persona non grata” in Israel. He said, Today, I have declared UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres persona non grata in Israel and banned him from entering the country.” Katz added, “Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel, as almost every country in the world has done, does not deserve to step foot on Israeli soil.”

The foreign minister added in his tweet, “This is a Secretary-General who has yet to denounce the massacre and sexual atrocities committed by Hamas murderers on October 7, nor has he led any efforts to declare them a terrorist organization. A Secretary-General who gives backing to terrorists, rapists, and murderers from Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and now Iran—the mothership of global terror—will be remembered as a stain on the history of the UN. Israel will continue to defend its citizens and uphold its national dignity, with or without António Guterres.”

After Iran launched almost 200 missiles targeting Israel, UN chief Antonio Guterres condemned the “broadening of the Middle East conflict, with escalation after escalation.” He added, “This must stop.  We absolutely need a ceasefire” without referring to Iran firing ballistic missiles towards Israel.

As reported earlier, on 1^st October, Iran launched several ballistic missiles targeting Israel as the Middle-East conflict worsens. The Israeli civilians had rushed to bomb shelters after sirens went off in the entire country following the large-scale ballistic missile launches by Iran.

As per the latest reports, 181 missiles were launched by Iran in the strike. Israel Defense Forces said that it intercepted “a large number” of them using the Iron Dome missile defence system. US forces also helped in shooting down many of the missiles.

However, due to the large number of missiles launched at the same time, the system was overwhelmed and many missiles hit locations in Israel, especially in central and southern Israel. As all the residents were rushed to bomb shelters, there were no significant casualties in the attack.

Earlier, on Monday, Israel launched “targeted ground raids” at Iran-backed proxy Hezbollah’s targets across several villages of southern Lebanon. This came just days after Hezbollah Chief Hasan Nasrallah was killed by Israel Defense Forces in an attack on his bunker. Israeli Ground attacks in Lebanon were backed by airstrikes and artillery launches in places close to Israel’s northern border.