UN Secretary General António Guterres has urgently called on the Security Council to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East after Iran launched a direct attack on Israel in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike. “The Middle East is on the brink,” Guterres told a special session of the body in New York. “The people of the region are confronting a real danger of a devastating full-scale conflict. Now is the time to defuse and de-escalate. Now is the time for maximum restraint.” The special meeting was convened at Israel’s request a day after Tehran launched its aerial attack. Iran’s “…