UN Security Council ends meeting without consensus

The UN Security Council (United Nations) discussed the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East in an emergency meeting this Sunday (April 14, 2024). Despite tension between countries in the region being the main topic, the meeting ended without an official statement from member countries.

The meeting request was made by Israel after Iranian attacks on Israeli territory on Saturday night (13 April).

At the meeting, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, stated that the Middle East is “on the edge of an abyss”. He asked the countries involved in the conflict to give a “Step back” and said it was still impossible “endure a new war”.

The atmosphere was also tense. Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilar Erdan, compared Iran’s regime to “Nazi regime”. He cited Ali Khamenei’s government in saying that its ambitions “demonic forces of global domination should be ended before they bring the world to the point of no return.”

The United States called for a de-escalation of the conflict. They sided with Israel, but stated that they were against increasing tension between the countries.

“The best way to avoid this escalation is for the Council to unequivocally condemn Iran’s unprecedented large-scale attack and call on it and its allies to avoid further violence,” said US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood.

Iran maintained its position of self-defense. He stated that the attack on Israel was in response to the Israeli operation on the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, which killed 8 people. Ambassador Saied Iravani said the attack was proportional to that of Israel on April 1 and demanded responses from member countries in relation to the Israeli government’s move.

IRAN X ISRAEL

The April 13, 2024, Iranian attack was expected. The country had promised to retaliate against the Israelis for the bombing that killed 8 people at the Iranian embassy in Damascus (Syria), on April 1, including a Revolutionary Guard general. Countries blamed Israel, even though the country did not take responsibility.

According to the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), around 300 drones and missiles were launched by Iran. Israel claims that fighters from the country and allies, such as the USA and the United Kingdom, and the Iron Dome defense system intercepted 99% of the aerial targets.

Next, read more about the attack and its reflexes:

• What did Israel say? – who will respond at the right time;
• What did Iran say? – who acted in self-defense;
• reactions around the world – the G7, a group with 7 of the largest economies on the planet, condemned the attack “unprecedented” and reinforced its commitment to Israel’s security;
• Brazil’s reaction – Itamaraty said it was monitoring the situation with “concern” and did not condemn Iranian action;
• Brazil disappointed – Israel’s ambassador to Brazil, Daniel Zonshine, told Poder360 who was disappointed with the Brazilian note;
• Brazil got it right – for former minister and career diplomat Rubens Ricupero, Itamaraty got the tone right. Spoke to Poder360 that there are no reasons for the country “take a position on one side or the other”;
• non-oil impact – a possible war between Iran and Israel should increase the price of the commodity and pressure Petrobras to increase fuel;
• videos – see images of the Iranian attack.