As the security situation worsened in the Middle East following Iran’s massive missile attack on Israel, Tel Aviv on Wednesday barred UN secretary general Antonio Guterres from entering the country.
Israel's foreign minister Israel Katz declared Guterres persona non grata and banned him from the country for his failure to "unequivocally condemn" Iran's attack.
"Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran's heinous attack on Israel does not deserve to step foot on Israeli soil," Katz was quoted as saying by the Haaretz.
"This is an anti-Israel Secretary-General who lends support to terrorists, rapists, and murderers," he said.
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Tehran fired over 180 missiles at Israel on Tuesday night in a major escalation of tension in the region. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed that most of the missiles were intercepted by US and Israeli missile defences, but the unprecedented attack sent over 10 million people into bomb shelters.
Iran’s provocation came hours after Israel launched ground incursion in Lebanon where the IDF has been carrying out pointed airstrike against Hezbollah targets. Many Hezbollah commanders, including its top leader Hassan Nasrallah, were killed in the Israeli attack.
Following Iran’s big missile offensive on Tuesday, Guterres wrote on X: "I condemn the broadening of the Middle East conflict with escalation after escalation. This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire."
His brief statement, however, left Israel unimpressed, especially because he had taken a strong stand against Tel Aviv after its military operations in Gaza.
"We condemn your inability to string together a tweet which holds Iran responsible for firing 181 ballistic missiles at 10 million Israeli civilians,” Israel responded to Guterres’s latest tweet.
Tension between Israel and Iran mounted after Ismail Haniyeh, a top leader of the Hamas, was assassinated in Tehran on August 1. Iran blamed Israel for Haniyeh’s death and vowed strong retaliation.