United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks to members of the Security Council during a meeting to address the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at UN headquarters in New York City, New York, US, April 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

i24 News – Israel’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that he was barring U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from entering the country over his failure to unequivocally condemn Iran’s missile barrage on Israel. Guterres has a long catalogue of dubious statements on Israel’s conflict with its Arab and Muslim neighbors.

Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday, days after an IDF strike in Beirut eliminated the leadership of Iran’s terror proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah. Many were intercepted in flight but some penetrated missile defenses. The attack’s only victim was a Palestinian man in the West Bank.

Guterres on Tuesday issued a brief statement after the missile attack condemning “the broadening of the Middle East conflict, with escalation after escalation.”

Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz said Guterres’ failure to call out Iran made him persona non grata in Israel.

“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.