The Portuguese António Guterres has been declared "persona non grata" and will not be allowed to visit Israel in the future. This is because he did not specifically condemn Iran's extensive robot attacks on Israel, according to Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
"Those who do not unequivocally condemn Iran's despicable attack on Israel do not deserve to set foot on Israeli soil," he announced.
The UN Secretary-General responded to Katz's outburst with a brief comment in the Security Council that he had condemned Iran's attack.
It should have been obvious yesterday through the context in which my condemnation was made, he said and continued:
I condemn again in strong terms yesterday's extensive robot attacks by Iran and Israel.
The statement Guterres and Israel referred to was a very brief comment on Tuesday's developments – where Israel first followed up airstrikes on Lebanon by announcing a form of ground invasion, after which Iran attacked Israel with hundreds of robots.
"I condemn the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, with escalation after escalation. This must stop. We must achieve a ceasefire," was Guterres' comment then.
Israel Katz accuses Guterres of exercising his office in an "anti-Israeli" manner and giving support to "terrorists, rapists, and murderers".
The 75-year-old António Guterres, former Prime Minister of Portugal, has been the UN Secretary-General since 2017.
