UN chief urges restraint after Israel bombs Iranian targets on Saturday

UN Secretary General António Guterres has urged a return to diplomacy and “maximum efforts to avoid an all-out regional war” after Israel bombed Iranian military facilities and air defense systems on Saturday. The attacks included a site linked to Iran’s ballistic missile program. Iran said four soldiers were killed. Israel has also hit air defense batteries and radars in Syria and Iraq. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran would give “an appropriate response” to the attack, but reiterated that Iran is not seeking a broader war. Israel’s attack came about four weeks after Iran launched a rocket attack on Israeli military sites in response to Israel’s increasing attack on Lebanon and Israel’s assassination of the leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas.