UN chief warns risk of full-scale war in Gulf must not be underestimated; South Korea's envoy calls for trust-building through dialogue

Iran's Ambassador to the UN Amir Saeid Iravani speaks to the press at UN headquarters in New York in June last year. [Getty Images]
Iran's Ambassador to the UN Amir Saeid Iravani speaks to the press at UN headquarters in New York in June last year. [Getty Images]

Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, said Wednesday that Donald Trump must stop making repeated threats against Iran, including the military threats the US president issued that day.

Iravani made the remarks at a high-level open Security Council debate held at UN headquarters in New York on the theme "Promoting Political Solutions in the Middle East: Mediation and Dialogue for Lasting Peace." "No sustainable agreement can be achieved through fear, intimidation or the use of force," he said.

The session was chaired by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, whose country holds the Security Council presidency for June.

"The United States has repeatedly pursued failed policies and should have learned by now that threats and military intimidation are counterproductive," Iravani said. He urged Washington to abandon the language of fear and engage with Iran on the basis of mutual respect, sovereign equality and full compliance with international law if it genuinely seeks a diplomatic resolution.

Earlier that day, Trump told reporters at the White House: "We hit Iran hard yesterday. We will hit Iran again, harder, today."

UN Secretary-General António Guterres, briefing the council, said the Gulf truce was closer to a "lesser-fire" than a full ceasefire, pointing to the escalation of attacks and threatening rhetoric witnessed over the previous 48 hours. "The risk of this situation escalating into full-scale hostilities — a full-scale war — must not be underestimated," he said.

Guterres added that the time had come to pursue a new security architecture for the Gulf region, grounded in respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states, non-interference in internal affairs and strengthened multilateral cooperation.

Lee Kyung-chul, South Korea's special envoy for Middle East peace, who attended the meeting as Seoul's representative, said the world faces a new reality in which "even digitally advanced economies cannot be independent from, or immune to, supply disruptions in traditional pillars of the global economy such as oil and shipping."

Lee introduced the SHINE Initiative, South Korea's Middle East diplomatic framework proposed in November last year, saying its core message was straightforward: build trust by promoting exchanges and dialogue so that nations can pursue stability in harmony. SHINE stands for Stability, Harmony, Innovation, Network and Education.


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