UN Security Council debates Middle East crisis, as US leads efforts for a ceasefire solution
The UN’s highest body has heard the direst warning yet about the escalating situation in Lebanon.
Addressing an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was not mincing his words: “Madam President, excellencies. Hell is breaking loose in Lebanon. As I told the General Assembly yesterday, we should all be alarmed by the escalation. Lebanon is at the brink.”
Mr Guterres said Monday saw Lebanon’s biggest loss of life in a single day in a generation.
Both Israel and Hezbollah were blamed for the worsening situation.
Britain’s foreign secretary was among many speakers calling for a diplomatic solution.
“We are on the precipice,” he told the meeting. “The rockets must stop now. The airstrikes must stop now. Talks must start now.”
Follow latest: US calls for 21-day ceasefire
But outside the chamber there was an ominous warning from Iran’s representative that his country may become more involved in this war if it goes on.
“Let me be frank,” Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister told reporters. “The region is on the brink of a full scale catastrophe. If unchecked, the world will face catastrophic consequences unlike anything before.
“Iran firmly upholds its inherent right to defend its vital interests.”
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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaking to reporters at the UN Pic: AP
Israel’s ambassador Danny Danon fought back in the meeting, singling out Iran for blame in this crisis.
“Every missile fired by Hezbollah, every drone launched by Iranian proxies, every act of terror on foreign soil, traces back to one source: the Islamic regime of Iran.
“It is the spider at the centre of this web of violence, and until that web is dismantled, there can be no peace in the region.”
The crisis has overshadowed events at the UN General Assembly. The fear here is of an escalation engulfing the region in an even bigger conflict.
The US is leading efforts to push for a ceasefire. Its diplomats have told Sky News they are speaking directly with Israel and indirectly bringing pressure to bear on Iran and Hezbollah through third countries.
What is not clear is if there is the time to contain events that are spiralling quickly out of control.
Donald Trump has threatened Russia with more sanctions after a series of deadly strikes across Ukraine, as he said of Vladimir Putin: “What the hell happened to him?”
The US president appeared aghast at the conduct of his counterpart in the Kremlin after drone and missile attacks in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities left 12 people dead and dozens more injured.
Trump criticises Putin – latest updates
Speaking to reporters at an airport in New Jersey ahead of a flight back to Washington, Mr Trump said: “I’m not happy with Putin. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
“He’s killing a lot of people,” he added. “I’m not happy about that.”
Mr Trump – who said he’s “always gotten along with” Mr Putin – told reporters he would consider more sanctions against Moscow.
“He’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all,” he said.
Ukraine said the barrage of strikes overnight into Sunday was the biggest aerial attack of the war so far, with 367 drones and missiles fired by Russian forces.
It came despite Mr Trump repeatedly talking up the chances of a peace agreement. He even spoke to Mr Putin on the phone for two hours last week.
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Hundreds of drones fired at Ukraine
‘Shameful’ attacks
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is ready to sign a ceasefire deal, and suggested Russia isn’t serious about signing one.
In a statement after the latest attacks on his country, he urged the US and other national leaders to increase the pressure on Mr Putin, saying silence “only encourages” him.
Mr Trump’s envoy for the country, Keith Kellogg, later demanded a ceasefire, describing the Russian attacks as “shameful”.
Three children were among those killed in the attacks, explosions shaking the cities of Kyiv, Odesa, and Mykolaiv.
Ukrainian siblings Tamara, 12, Stanislav, eight, and Roman, 17, were killed in Russian airstrikes. Pic: X/@Mariana_Betsa
Before the onslaught, Russia said it had faced a Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday. It said around 100 were intercepted and destroyed near Moscow and in central and southern regions.
The violence has escalated despite Russia and Ukraine completing the exchange of 1,000 prisoners each over the past three days.
Donald Trump says he will delay the imposition of 50% tariffs on goods entering the United States from the European Union until July, as the two sides attempt to negotiate a trade deal.
It comes after the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a post on social media site X that she had spoken to Mr Trump and expressed that they needed until 9 July to “reach a good deal”.
The US president had last Friday threatened to bring in the 50% tariffs from 1 June, as European leaders said they were ready to respond with their own measures.
But Mr Trump has now said that date has been put back to 9 July to allow more time for negotiations with the 27-member bloc, with the phone call appearing to smooth over tensions for now at least.
Speaking on Sunday before boarding Air Force One for Washington DC, Mr Trump told reporters that he had spoken to Ms Von der Leyen and she “wants to get down to serious negotiations” and she vowed to “rapidly get together and see if we can work something out”.
The US president, in comments on his Truth Social platform, had reignited fears last Friday of a trade war between the two powers when he said talks were “going nowhere” and the bloc was “very difficult to deal with”.
Mr Trump told the media in Morristown, New Jersey, on Sunday that Ms Von der Leyen “just called me… and she asked for an extension in the June 1st date. And she said she wants to get down to serious negotiation”.
“We had a very nice call and I agreed to move it. I believe July 9th would be the date. That was the date she requested. She said we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out,” the US president added.
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Shortly after, he wrote on Truth Social: “I agreed to the extension – July 9, 2025 – It was my privilege to do so.”
On his so-called “liberation day” last month, Mr Trump unleashed tariffs on many of America’s trade partners. But since then he’s backed down in a spiralling tit-for-tat tariff face-off with China, and struck a deal with the UK.
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Much of his most incendiary rhetoric on trade has been directed at Brussels, though, even going as far as to claim the EU was created to rip the US off.
Responding to his 50% tariff threat, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said: “EU-US trade is unmatched and must be guided by mutual respect, not threats.
“We stand ready to defend our interests.”
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