The Latest | UN chief calls for `urgent de-escalation' in the Middle East

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is calling for “urgent de-escalation” of hostilities in the Middle East.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday that Guterres made the comments during a phone conversation with Iran’s foreign minister following Tehran’s weekend attack on Israel. Dujarric said Guterres spoke to Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian on Monday.

During an emergency Security Council meeting on Sunday, Guterres warned that “the Middle East is on the brink” and it's time to step back.

World leaders have urged Israel not to retaliate after Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles over the weekend in an unprecedented mission that pushed the Middle East closer to a regionwide war. The attack happened less than two weeks after a suspected Israeli strike in Syria killed two Iranian generals in an Iranian consular building.