Israel bans UN Secretary-General for anti-Israel actions: ‘He does not deserve to set foot on Israeli soil’

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) met on Wednesday following Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel, but the meeting was overshadowed by Israel’s announcement that it had banned the UN Secretary-General for failing to condemn Iran.

“Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s shameful attack on Israel does not deserve to set foot on Israeli soil,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said of the decision to declare UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres persona non grata.

“He is an anti-Israel secretary general who supports terrorists, rapists and murderers,” Katz argued. “Guterres will be remembered as a stain on UN history for generations to come.”

Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday after the death of Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and after the Israel Defense Forces launched concentrated incursions into Lebanon to strike the terrorist group.

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Guterres issued a brief statement on Tuesday after Iran’s attack, calling it “the latest attack in the Middle East” and broadly condemning the conflict as “escalation after escalation.”

He also criticized Israel for its actions in Gaza and the West Bank, claiming that Israel “conducted the most deadly and destructive military campaign in Gaza in my years.”

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a meeting of the Security Council at the United Nations headquarters in New York, September 27, 2024. (Reuters/Eduardo Munoz)

“The suffering experienced by the Palestinian people in Gaza is beyond imagination,” Guterres said. “At the same time, the situation in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, continues to deteriorate due to Israeli military operations.”

“Settlement construction, evictions, land grabbing and intensifying attacks on settlers are gradually undermining any possibility of a two-state solution, and at the same time armed Palestinian groups have also used violence,” he said.

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Israel criticized Guterres for not “unequivocally” condemning the Iranian attack or even naming Iran when discussing the attack. Israel responded by declaring person non grata, effectively banning him from entering its borders.

“Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel, as almost every country in the world has done, does not deserve to set foot on Israeli soil,” Katz said.

Foreign Minister Israel Katz waits for his British and French counterparts to meet in Jerusalem as part of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, August 16, 2024. (Reuters/Florion Goga)

“This is a secretary general who has yet to condemn the massacre and sexual atrocities committed by the Hamas murderers on October 7 and has not introduced any resolutions designating them as a terrorist organization,” Katz continued.

“A Secretary-General who provides support to the terrorists, rapists and murderers of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and now Iran, the home of global terror, will be remembered as a stain on the history of the UN for generations to come,” he added. “Israel will continue to defend its citizens and uphold its national dignity, with or without António Guterres.”

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And although it took almost a day to condemn Iran after the attacks, Guterres seemed to get the message, telling council members: “As I did in the wake of the Iranian attack in April – and as should have been obvious yesterday in the context of the condemnation I expressed – I will again strongly “I condemn yesterday’s massive missile attack by Iran on Israel.”

Israel’s decision to ban Guterres sparked the ire of Algeria, which was the first to express “sincere gratitude… solidarity, admiration and support for the Secretary-General.”

“This decision reflects clear contempt for the UN system and the entire international community,” said the representative of Algeria. “For Israeli authorities, there is no narrative or truth other than their own.”

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks at the Security Council meeting following the missile attack on Israel at the United Nations headquarters in New York, October 2, 2024. (Reuters/Stephani Spindel)

However, some permanent members of the Council expressed clear support for Israel and condemned Iran for the attack, while calling on Tehran to stop supporting terrorism through its proxy forces.

US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield “unequivocally” condemned Iran’s attack and called for further sanctions on Tehran. She also explicitly linked Iran to the October 7 attack on Israel, arguing that “Iran was complicit… through its financing, training, capabilities and support for the military wing of Hamas.”

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“After the horrific attack by Hamas almost a year ago today, the United States sent a clear message to Iran: do not exploit the situation in a way that would risk pushing the region into a wider war,” Thomas-Greenfield said.

“The IRGC has blatantly and repeatedly ignored this warning, encouraging and enabling the Houthis in Yemen to disrupt global shipping and launch attacks on Israel by supporting militant groups in Syria and Iraq,” she continued.

The United Nations Security Council convenes emergency meeting following missile attack on Israel, October 2, 2024. (Reuters/Stephani Spindel)

“Iran’s announced intention was to avenge the deaths of two IRGC-backed terrorist leaders and an IRGC commander by causing significant damage and death to Israel,” she added. “Fortunately, thanks to close coordination between the United States and Israel, Iran failed to achieve its goals.”

“This result does not detract from the fact that this attack, which was expected to cause significant death and destruction, represented a significant escalation by Iran,” she stressed.

The UK also condemned Iran’s attack and expressed “full support” for Israel “in exercising its right to defend itself against Iranian aggression.”

France called on Iran to “refrain from any actions that could lead to additional destabilization,” going further and condemning “the attack targeting the civilian population in Jaffa.”

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“The civilian population is the first victim of this terrible situation,” the French representative said. “The situation is serious.”

Iran ultimately presented its case to the council, arguing that the Security Council “remains paralyzed by U.S. obstruction” and accused permanent members France and Britain of playing the role of “serious enablers” of Israel who “are trying to justify Israel’s heinous crimes under the guise of self-defense, blaming Iran.”

Reuters contributed to this report.