UN: 'There is no room for new war in the Persian Gulf'

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday, through a spokesman, that the world could not allow another war in the Persian Gulf. The secretary-general's statement comes the day after the death of the Quds forces commander, the elite arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (GRI) following a US air strike.

“The Secretary-General has consistently advocated reducing tensions in the Gulf. He is deeply concerned about the recent escalation, ”spokesman Farhan Haq said in a brief statement.

General Qasem Soleimani's death occurred on the night of Thursday 2, when missiles fired from a drone hit a convoy in which the Iranian was standing next to Iraqi paramilitary group leaders at Baghdad International Airport.

The United States justified the act as a preemptive strike, as Soleimani was planning attacks on US facilities in the region.

Tensions have escalated between the United States and Iran since the unilateral departure from the Global Joint Action Plan (JCPOA) , better known as the Nuclear Agreement, in March 2018 and the re-establishment of economic sanctions following it. Since then, several episodes have almost led the two countries to war, such as the slaughter of an American drone and the attack on oil refineries by Saudi Arabia's state-owned Aramco. Tehran accuses the United States of "economic terrorism" by stifling its economy through economic constraints.