UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday appeared to criticize the Israeli and US strikes on Iran, prompting a response from Israel’s former Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, who branded the UN chief “irrelevant".
“All the unlawful attacks in the Middle East and beyond are causing tremendous suffering and harm to civilians throughout the region - and pose a grave a risk to the global economy, particularly to the most vulnerable people," wrote Guterres in a post on social media, without specifically naming Israel or the US.
He warned, “The situation could spiral beyond anyone’s control. It is time to stop the fighting and get to serious diplomatic negotiations. The stakes could not be higher."
Erdan wrote in response, “Antonio, you are the most irrelevant person on earth. Go home. You and your corrupt and ineffective organization, the UN, have become a collaborator of dictators and terrorists. Shame on you!"
He added, “We all pray that President Trump and the leaders of the free world would soon defund completely the UN and dismantle it. Then you can go and spend your time with your friends the Ayatollahs."
Guterres, already known for his anti-Israel bias, has increased his criticism of Israel since the October 7, 2023 massacre carried out by the Hamas terrorist organization in southern Israel.
Several weeks after October 7, the UN Secretary-General said that the attack on Israel “did not happen in a vacuum" and appeared to blame Israel for the attack.
After his remarks were widely condemned, the UN chief claimed his comments were misinterpreted and that he had indeed condemned Hamas.
In October of 2024, then-Foreign Minister Israel Katz - now Defense Minister - announced that Guterres had been barred from entering Israel.
More recently, Guterres condemned Israel for demolishing the Jerusalem compound of UNRWA, the UN agency for “Palestinian refugees".
In response, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein reposted the condemnation on social media, attaching a video documenting Hamas terrorist Mohammad Marwan Abu Itiwi taking Israeli hostages on October 7, 2023, together with a screenshot of an UNRWA list showing that Itiwi was an UNRWA driver, together with his employee number.
“Was this your UNRWA Employee of the Month?" wrote Marmorstein.
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)