Speaking on the escalating situation, the UN chief said the international community is “staring down the barrel of a wider war” if tensions continue to rise unchecked.

He stressed that it was “high time” for the United States and Israel to end their military campaign against Iran, while also calling on Tehran to halt attacks on neighbouring countries not directly involved in the conflict.

Guterres urged all sides to step back from further escalation and prioritise diplomacy over confrontation.

“It is time to stop climbing the escalation ladder, and start climbing the diplomatic ladder, and return to full respect of international law,” he said.

Arnault named as envoy for Middle East war

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres ‌on Wednesday named veteran UN diplomat Jean Arnault as his personal envoy to support efforts to end the Middle East conflict, saying the “world is staring down the barrel of a wider war.”

Guterres ​told reporters that he had been in close contact with many in the ​region and around the world and that a number of initiatives ⁠for dialogue and peace were underway.

He said these must succeed and ​warned that prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz was choking the movement of ​oil, gas, and fertiliser at a critical moment in the global food planting season.

“It is time to stop climbing the escalation ladder – and start climbing the diplomatic ladder,” he said at ​the UN in New York.

Guterres said UN mediators have offered their services ​and Arnault would do “everything possible” to support peace efforts.

Disrupted fertiliser shipments ​and soaring energy ⁠prices are threatening to unleash a fresh food-price surge across vulnerable nations, risking a years-long setback just as many were recovering ​from successive global shocks, UN and other experts warn.

An analysis ​released by ⁠the UN World Food Programme last week warned that tens of millions more people will face acute hunger if the Iran war continues through to June.

Guterres said ⁠Gulf ​countries are important suppliers of raw materials ​for nitrogen fertilisers, crucial for developing countries.

“Without fertilisers today, we might have hunger tomorrow,” he said.