LISBON, June 23 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres expressed his hope on Sunday that there will be no "escalation" of confrontation in the Gulf, Portuguese Lusa News Agency reported.
As this moment, the Gulf region is seeing great tensions, Guterres said on the sidelines of the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth in Lisbon.
The shoot-down of a U.S. military drone by Iran on Thursday had fueled the ongoing tension between Washington and Tehran, raising concerns about another military conflict in the war-torn region.
It is absolutely essential to avoid escalation. The world today can't afford a major confrontation in the Gulf, which could have unpredictable consequences, said the UN chief.
On Saturday, U.S. media reported that the United States carried out cyber attacks against Iranian missile control systems in retaliation after Iran shot down the U.S. surveillance drone.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, the Washington Post reported that the cyber attacks, which were approved by U.S. President Donald Trump, disabled Iranian computer systems used to control rocket and missile launches.
Trump on Friday confirmed that he called off the military strikes in retaliation against Iran 10 minutes before they were to be implemented, citing the potential casualties of the impending strikes, which might be 150 people and "not proportionate" to the loss of a U.S. unmanned aircraft.
However, he has not ruled out future military strikes against Iran. He told reporters on Saturday that military action "is always on the table until we get this solved".
