High-Level Political Forum, Iran & other topics -Daily Press Briefing (13 July 2026)| United Nations

Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. Highlights: High-Level Political Forum Iran Passing of the Former Emir of Qatar Yemen UNIFIL Occupied Palestinian Territory El Niño Venezuela Ukraine Afghanistan The Global Higher Education Symposium II Briefings Tomorrow HIGH-LEVEL POLITICAL FORUM This morning, the Secretary-General spoke at the Opening of the Ministerial Segment of the High-Level Political Forum. He told the Member States that we have made important progress on the 2030 Agenda for the Sustainable Development Goals. He pointed to lower child and maternal mortality; greater access to social protection, safe drinking water, sanitation, electricity and the internet; faster declines in harmful practices like child marriage; and exponential growth in renewable energy. But Mr. Guterres warned that our journey has faced some major setbacks in recent years, and we’re now entering the toughest stretch of our journey. He said that the world is now far from meeting SDG 6, with about 2.2 billion people still lacking safely-managed drinking water, and 3.5 billion lacking safely-managed sanitation. The Secretary-General added that artificial intelligence must reduce inequalities and mitigate the environmental impacts, and not multiply them. And, lastly, the Secretary-General said that we need urgent action to close the SDG financing gap, which now stands at over $4 trillion annually. IRAN In a statement issued yesterday, the Secretary-General expressed his deep concern at the serious escalation and renewed military confrontations in the Gulf region, including the Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the attacks by the United States on Iran, and the attacks by Iran on targets in neighbouring countries. These attacks must all stop, he said. Mr. Guterres calls on all parties to exercise maximum restraint, avoid further escalatory action and take immediate steps to, in fact, de-escalate.  The Secretary-General reiterates that a return to full-scale hostilities would have catastrophic consequences, for the peoples of the region, for international peace and security, and for the global economy. He further reaffirms the need for the restoration of the full freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. The Secretary-General urges Iran and the United States to urgently resume negotiations and to address outstanding issues through diplomacy. Speaking of diplomacy, I can confirm that, on his first visit to Iran, the officer-in-charge of the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jean Arnault, met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi. Mr. Arnault outlined the UN efforts for the implementation of resolution 1701 and his understanding of the challenges ahead. He sought the views of Iran on the situation, and the support that countries in the region can provide to the Lebanese aspirations to peace, to sovereignty and to territorial integrity. Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-07-13


For more information or to watch video on YouTube, click here!