United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres just dropped a bombshell, stating there are “reasonable grounds” to believe both sides in the escalating U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran might have committed war crimes. Now, he’s putting the ball squarely in President Trump’s court to urge de-escalation.
Speaking from Brussels, Guterres said, “If there are attacks either on Iran or from Iran on energy infrastructure, I think that there are reasonable grounds to think that they might constitute a war crime.” We’ve definitely seen this play out recently, too. Israel hit Iran’s South Pars natural gas field on Wednesday, then Tehran retaliated by striking a major energy complex in Qatar.
Beyond just infrastructure, Politico reported that Guterres is also deeply concerned about the growing number of civilian casualties, which he believes opens both sides to potential war crimes charges. He stressed, “I don’t see any difference. It doesn’t matter who targets civilians. It is totally unacceptable.”
The people who suffer the most are always the innocent
Guterres seems pretty convinced about Israel’s long-term goals here. He thinks Israel’s strategy is to “achieve a total destruction of the military capacity of Iran and regime change.” Although Netanyahu recently hinted it might have something to do with oil, too. On the flip side, Guterres believes Iran plans to “resist for as much time as possible and to cause as much harm as possible.”
This is where Trump really comes into the picture. Guterres said, “The war needs to stop… and I believe that it is in the hands of the U.S. to make it stop. It is possible [to end the war], but it depends on the political will to do it.” He’s added, “President Trump will be able to convince… those that need to be convinced that the work is done. That the work can end.”
WAR CRIMES ARE WAR CRIMES AND THE TRUMP-ADMINISTRATION MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE AS WELL!!!!
— Jim Wilson (@JimWilDemocrat2) March 20, 2026
UN chief says there are ‘reasonable grounds’ to believe war crimes have been committed by both sides in Iran #UN #Iran #BenjaminNetanyahuhttps://t.co/Y0nmYrhsKP pic.twitter.com/dIBbiZqEeu
“I have no doubt that this was something that corresponds to Israel’s strategy… to draw the United States into a war. That objective was achieved.” Guterres followed this accusation by adding thatthis situation is causing “dramatic suffering” in Iran, the wider region, and even in Israel, with a “devastating impact in the global economy and whose consequences are still too early to foresee.”
Interestingly, Trump himself noted that U.S. hadn’t authorized Israel’s attack on the South Pars site, noting Israel had “violently lashed out.” Guterres also pointed out that Russia is the biggest beneficiary of this whole crisis, calling Moscow “the country that is gaining more with what’s happening in this horrible disaster. Russia is already the winner.” It’s a convenient distraction from their own war in Ukraine, for sure.
UN chief needs to not Trust Trump I'm sure he was part of it
— Cheryl
Read "UN chief says there are ‘reasonable grounds’ to believe war crimes have been committed by both sides in Iran" on SmartNews: https://t.co/QyMNiswulJ #SmartNews(@cherylallen1959) March 20, 2026
This is despite President Trump’s appeals for help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane Iran has largely blocked, sending global energy prices soaring. Guterres actually applauded the Europeans’ caution, saying, “I think these countries made their own reading of the situation, and I believe they took a decision not to get too much involved, knowing that the most important objective is the de-escalation.”
