War in Middle East ‘is out of control’ – UN

2026-03-26 - 04:44

The war in the Middle East “is out of control,” and has “broken past the limits even leaders thought imaginable,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said. Speaking to journalists outside the Security Council chamber in New York, he has said the “world is staring down the barrel of a wider war, a rising tide of human suffering, and a deeper global economic shock,” 3 weeks after the conflict began. He added that across the region and further afield “civilians are enduring serious harm and living under profound insecurity,” and that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz was “choking the movement of oil, gas, and fertiliser at a critical moment in the global planting season.” Mr. Guterres said that the UN is deeply engaged in trying to minimize the consequences of the war, emphasising that “it is time to stop climbing the escalation ladder and start climbing the diplomatic ladder, and return to full respect of international law.” Calling on all warring parties to end the conflict Mr. Guterres said “we need a way out of this disaster. Diplomacy is the way out. Full respect of international law is the way out. Peace is the way out.” The UN chief has appointed Jean Arnault, who has worked in numerous UN missions around the world, as his Personal Envoy to lead the UN efforts on the conflict, and mitigating its aftermath.