UN chief condemns escalation in Middle East amid Israeli strikes on Iran

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres released a statement late Thursday denouncing the escalation in the Middle East amid the Israeli military's strikes on Iranian sites.

"The Secretary-General condemns any military escalation in the Middle East," said a statement by Guterres' spokesperson Farhan Haq.

Guterres "is particularly concerned by Israeli attacks on nuclear installations in Iran while talks between Iran and the United States on the status of Iran's nuclear program are underway," the statement said.

Reminding the member states to "act in accordance with the UN Charter and international law," the statement noted that the UN chief "asks both sides to show maximum restraint, avoiding at all costs a descent into deeper conflict, a situation that the region can hardly afford."

The statement came after Israel launched a sweeping military operation against Iran on Friday, with strikes targeting its nuclear program and long-range missile capabilities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech posted on YouTube that his forces struck the "heart of Iran's nuclear enrichment program. We struck at the heart of Iran's nuclear weaponization program."

Meanwhile, Iranian state media reported that the Israeli strikes killed top Iranian military officials, including the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Gen. Hossein Salami.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to respond to Israel with "severe punishment."

"The Zionist regime has committed a crime in our dear country today at dawn with its satanic, bloodstained hands. It has revealed its malicious nature even more than before by targeting residential areas," Khamenei said.