NEW YORK: US-Iran strikes drew a warning from United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who urged both sides to stop escalating attacks across the Gulf.
Guterres said he was deeply concerned by US attacks on Iran and Iranian attacks on targets in neighbouring countries. “These attacks must all stop,” he said on X.
He warned that a return to full-scale war would bring catastrophic consequences for the region and the world. He urged Washington and Tehran to settle their differences through diplomacy.
Pope Leo also called for dialogue and diplomacy. He said the “winds of war” were spreading violence, terror and death in the Middle East, Ukraine and beyond.
The appeals came as Iranian state media reported explosions near Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island and Hajjiabad in Hormozgan province. Qeshm Governor Hossein Amir Teymouri said 10 to 11 projectiles hit military targets, with no casualties reported.
The Associated Press reported that US strikes hit Iranian military targets near the Strait of Hormuz after an Iranian missile strike on a commercial container ship. Iran also claimed attacks on regional countries hosting US forces.
Kuwait’s Defence Ministry said three northern border centres and an offshore oil drilling platform came under attack, causing material damage and injuring one worker.
Iran’s state-run power company Tavanir said the electricity grid had lost 4,200 megawatts of capacity after damage to more than 2,000 points on the network.
Read: Iran Gulf Attacks Follow Fresh US Strikes on Tehran
Analyst Alexandru Hudisteanu told Al Jazeera that the US-Iran standoff had become a “competition of ego” around the Strait of Hormuz and risked creating a lasting state of conflict.
