UN Security Council to Hold Emergency Middle East Meeting Wednesday, UN and EU Call for Ceasefire

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss the escalation of conflict in the Middle East, the Swiss presidency of the Council announced. "We have scheduled a meeting" at 10:00 am New York time (1400 GMT), a spokesperson for the Swiss mission told reporters. Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement "I condemn the broadening of the Middle East conflict, with escalation after escalation." "This must stop. ?We absolutely need a ceasefire," he said. Similarly, the European Union called for an immediate ceasefire across the region. "The dangerous cycle of attacks and retaliation risks ... spiralling out of control," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell posted on X. "An immediate ceasefire across the region is needed," he added. On Tuesday evening, Iran's Revolutionary Guard announced that it had launched a missile attack on sites inside the Israeli entity. In a statement, it said the attack was carried out with the support of the army and the M inistry of Defense, and the operation was approved by the Supreme National Security Council, noting that it targeted "the heart of the occupied territories." Source: Qatar News Agency