Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz announced on Wednesday that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is banned from entering the country. This decision follows Guterres’s failure to unequivocally condemn Iran’s recent missile attack on Israel.
On Tuesday, Iran launched over 180 ballistic missiles at Israel amid rising tensions with its proxy, Hezbollah. While many of these missiles were intercepted, some breached Israel’s missile defenses, although no casualties were reported.
Guterres had issued a statement that only referred to the “latest attacks in the Middle East” and condemned the ongoing conflict without specifically addressing Iran’s actions.
Katz declared Guterres persona non grata on the platform X, stating, “Today, I have banned UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres from entering Israel. Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel does not deserve to step foot on Israeli soil.” He criticized Guterres for not denouncing Hamas’s actions during the October 7 attacks and accused him of showing support for groups labeled as terrorists.
In a contrasting statement, Guterres expressed concern on X, condemning the escalating conflict in the Middle East and calling for an immediate ceasefire to halt the violence.
In response, the official X account of the State of Israel replied: “We condemn your inability to string together a tweet which holds Iran responsible for firing 181 ballistic missiles at 10 million Israeli civilians.”
Katz emphasized that Israel will continue to defend its citizens and uphold its national dignity, with or without Guterres’ support.
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