UN calls for urgent diplomacy in Middle East crisis
By Francis Muli, April 8, 2026The United Nations (UN) has issued a strong warning against the destruction of civilian infrastructure and renewed calls for urgent diplomatic efforts to end the escalating crisis in the Middle East.
Responding to a reporter’s question on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, UN Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said Secretary-General António Guterres was “very troubled” by recent statements suggesting that entire populations could bear the consequences of political and military decisions.
“The Secretary General is very troubled by the statements that we’ve heard yesterday and again this morning: the statement suggesting that an entire people or an entire civilization may be paid to bear the consequences of political and military decisions,” he said.
Guterres stressed that no military justification exists for targeting civilian systems or inflicting widespread suffering.
“There is no military objective that justifies the wholesale destruction of a society’s infrastructure or the deliberate infliction of suffering on civilian populations,” Dujarric added.
The UN chief reiterated that conflicts can only be resolved through dialogue, urging leaders to act decisively.
“He reiterates that conflicts end when leaders choose dialogue over destruction, that choices still exist and that those choices must be made now,” the spokesman said.
As part of efforts to de-escalate tensions, the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for the Middle East, Jean Arnault, is travelling to the region to support diplomatic engagement aimed at ending the crisis.
The remarks come amid heightened tensions following reported threats to destroy civilian infrastructure in Iran by US President Donald Trump. Guterres maintained that such actions would be unjustifiable under international law, reinforcing the UN’s stance on the protection of civilians.
About 12 hours before the Tuesday night deadline he set for Iranian authorities, Trump shared a social media post threatening to irreversibly obliterate Iran.
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!” Trump wrote.
In response, Iranians formed human chains across bridges and in front of power plants across the country to protest Donald Trump’s threat to target civilian infrastructure and send Iran back to the “Stone Age”.