UNITED NATIONS, July 23. /TASS/. The Middle East is being drawn ever more deeply into an expanding conflict, and the situation in the region is getting out of control, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has stated.

"It is teetering on the edge of [the] unimaginable. The region is being pulled into an ever-widening circle of confrontation. One crisis feeds another. One escalation triggers the next," he said, referring to the Middle East conflict during open debates of the UN Security Council on peaceful settlement.

The head of the world organization added that "it is time to step back", noting that "there is no military solution to the conflict."

The United States and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28. In June, Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding providing for an immediate ceasefire across all fronts, including Lebanon. However, on the night of July 8, the United States resumed large-scale strikes on Iran, accusing Tehran of violating the agreement’s provisions concerning the Strait of Hormuz.