UN Official Urges End to Cycle of Violence in Mideast.

NEW YORK: The cycle of violence in the Middle East must end before the region slides into more chaos, said a UN official late on Monday. "The latest exchange of attacks between Israel (occupation) and Iran risks plunging the region into the unknown at a time when we urgently need de-escalation on all fronts," warned Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary General for the Middle East and Asia and the Pacific. He urged parties to cease all military actions to prevent an all-out regional war and return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy. According to Kuwait News Agency, this is the first time Israel's (occupation) military has claimed responsibility for attacking sites in Iran. Iran stated that the Israeli occupation's military air strikes targeted several sites in Khuzestan, Ilam and around Tehran provinces, with most of the missiles intercepted by its air defense system. The attacks, which caused "limited and minor damage" to several radar systems, killed four Iranian military officers and one civilian. Decryi ng that some Council members are still reluctant to call the situation a threat to international peace and security, Khiari condemned in the strongest terms Israeli occupying forces' military attack on Iran. Pointing to double standards in the Council, he stressed, "No one is above the law and the Israeli occupying Power must be held accountable for its actions." He called on Council members to impose an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon in the short term, and to work towards establishing an independent Palestinian State with Al-Quds Sharif as its capital. In regards to northern Gaza, Khiari said deaths and hunger had reached unprecedented levels with many civilians under the rubbles as well as patients and the injured not receiving proper life-saving treatments. He reiterated calls for halting Israeli occupation's brutal assaults on Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, releasing all hostages, and holding those committing war crimes accountable. The UN official affirmed that the UNSC would be hol ding a session Tuesday to discuss the Middle East developments including the Palestinian cause, with the meeting overseen by Tor Wennesland, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.