United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has acknowledged that there was a trust gap between Iran and the international community on its nuclear programme, even as Iran has repeatedly stated that it does not seek nuclear weapons.

He called for the Non-Proliferation Treaty to be respected as a cornerstone of the international community as he again affirmed the need for diplomacy.

Guterres was addressing the UN Security Council where he urged the parties to give peace a chance.

“Give peace a chance. The confrontation between Israel and Iran is escalating rapidly with a terrible toll, killing and injuring civilians, devastating homes, neighbourhoods and civilian infrastructure and attacking nuclear facilities. The world is watching with growing alarm. We are not drifting toward crisis; we are racing toward it. We are not witnessing isolated incidents; we are on course to potential chaos. The expansion of this conflict could ignite a fire that no one can control. We must not let that happen.”

The UN Security Council also heard from the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi who warned against direct attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities and the implications of catastrophic radioactive leaks on the population and the environment.

But Grossi also struck an optimistic tone that a diplomatic solution was in reach and asserted that the IAEA could guarantee a watertight inspection system of Iran’s nuclear programme that would ensure a long-standing agreement that nuclear weapons would not be developed.

“This opportunity should not be missed. The alternative would be a protracted conflict and a looming threat of nuclear proliferation that, while emanating from the Middle East, would effectively erode the NPT and the Non-Proliferation regime as a whole.”

UNSC emergency meeting on Israel-Iran: Sherwin Bryce-Pease updates