UN chief calls for end to 'war everywhere' amid US-Iran tensions

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an end to war amid escalating tensions between the United States and Iran in the Middle East.

The UN posted a message on its official social media Thursday, saying that Guterres had issued the following warning during a briefing on the situation in the Middle East: "Armed conflict must stop everywhere in the region."

Guterres warned that "the situation is spiraling out of control" and that the world was "teetering on the edge of an unimaginable and horrific crisis."

Stressing that diplomacy is the only way forward, he said the region was "being sucked into a vortex of ever-expanding confrontation," adding that "one crisis is spawning another, and one escalation is triggering the next."

He urged both sides to "step back now."

Despite the UN's appeal, the United States was reported to be on the verge of launching its largest-ever military action against Iran.

President Donald Trump, in an interview with US online outlet Axios on Thursday, said he was "looking at a very big attack" — "bigger than anything before."

He said he was "just about to make a decision" and that "we are all set."