Israel’s foreign minister said Wednesday that he was barring the United Nations secretary-general from entering Israel, accusing him of being biased against the country.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz said he was declaring Antonio Guterres "persona non grata" and said he would be prevented from entering Israel.
The move deepens an already wide rift between Israel and the United Nations.
Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday amid an escalation in fighting between its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, and Israel. Many were intercepted mid-air but some penetrated missile defenses. No casualties were reported.
Guterres on Tuesday issued a brief statement referencing only the "latest attacks in the Middle East" and condemning the conflict "with escalation after escalation." Earlier on Tuesday, Israel had sent troops into south Lebanon.
"Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran's heinous attack on Israel, as nearly all the countries of the world have done, does not deserve to set foot on Israeli soil," Katz said.
Germany later criticized Israel’s move as unhelpful.
German Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sebastian Fischer said: "This step isn’t particularly helpful, because in the end more talks are needed and not fewer talks." Germany is a staunch ally of Israel.
He said: "We shouldn’t deprive ourselves of channels of dialogue that could possibly contribute to bringing about a solution."
Also Wednesday, Iran’s charge d’affaires in Berlin was summoned to the German Foreign Ministry, where German officials condemned Iran’s missile barrage against Israel on Tuesday and demanded that Tehran and its allies refrain from further attacks.
Neighboring Austria also summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires in Vienna to its Foreign Ministry.
