The UN Secretary-General António Guterres is calling on global leaders to de-escalate geopolitical tensions, which he described as being “at their highest level this century” as the new decade dawns.
“The New Year has begun with our world in turmoil. We are living in dangerous times”, said the UN chief, noting that turbulence is only escalating. “Even nuclear non-proliferation can no longer be taken for granted” he added, without specifically referencing the events of recent days following the targeted killing by a United States drone, of Iran’s most influential general, Qasem Soleimani, in Iraq last Friday.
Iran has vowed to avenge the killing of the elite Quds Force commander, and on Sunday it signified it would no longer be bound by the restrictions on its nuclear programme, outlined in the 2015 deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA. The deal was debated in the Security Council in December 2019.
On Sunday the Iraqi parliament also passed a non-binding resolution calling for US troops to leave the country, in a clear response to the killing of the Iranian general on their soil.
In response, President Trump has threatened Iraq with sanctions if forced to withdraw its forces, and also threatened on Twitter, to destroy multiple sites of “cultural” significance within Iran, if there are reprisal attacks against Americans.
On 1 January, Mr. Guterres also expressed his concerns at the announcement by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known as North Korea, that it was ending its self-imposed moratorium on nuclear missile testing.
Speaking to the press at UN Headquarters in New York, he added that a “cauldron of tensions is leading more and more countries to take unpredicted decisions with unpredictable consequences and a profound risk of miscalculation.
“At the same time, we see trade and technological conflicts that fracture world markets, undermine growth and widen inequalities”, he added.
