UN chief warns world on 'edge of a wider war'

UN chief Antonio Guterres warned on Thursday that the Middle East conflict risked spiralling into a wider war, as he called for an immediate halt to US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Iranian attacks on its neighbours.
'We are on the edge of a wider war that would engulf the Middle East with dramatic impacts around the globe,' the secretary-general told reporters in New York.
Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Baghdad warned that armed groups in Iraq may attack the city in the coming one or two days.
Iraq has been dragged into the war between the United States, Israel and Iran, with strikes targeting both US interests and pro-Iran groups in the country.
The US Embassy in Baghdad, located in the centre of the city, has been repeatedly targeted, and on Thursday it warned of more attacks in central parts of the capital.
'Iraqi terrorist groups aligned with Iran may intend to conduct attacks in central Baghdad in the next 24-48 hours,' the embassy said in a statement on X.
It repeated earlier advice for Americans in Iraq to leave.
The frequency of attacks in Iraq has decreased in recent days after the influential group Kataeb Hezbollah declared a pause on March 19, which was twice extended. But the group did not announce a further extension on Wednesday night after its latest pause expired.
Last month, Washington and Baghdad said they would 'intensify cooperation' to prevent attacks and ensure Iraqi territory is not used to launch assaults against US facilities.
But the US Embassy statement on Thursday said 'the Iraqi government has not prevented terrorist attacks in or from Iraqi territory'.
'Iran-aligned groups may claim to be associated with the Iraqi government,' it added.
Former Iraqi paramilitary alliance Hashed al Shaabi - also known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces - is a sprawling coalition of armed groups that are now part of Iraq's regular army, but they contain pro-Iran factions who have a reputation for acting independently.
These factions and the PMF have been targeted by strikes since the outbreak of war and have blamed the US and Israel.
The Pentagon has said helicopters have carried out strikes against armed groups in Iraq during the war. Washington has strongly denied claims that it has targeted Iraqi security forces.
A strike on Wednesday against a PMF position in northwestern Iraq - which the PMF blamed on the US and Israel - killed three fighters.
The US Embassy, in its statement, urged US citizens in Iraq to leave immediately, warning that 'groups have targeted Americans for kidnapping'.
On Tuesday evening, an American journalist, named by her employer and media advocacy groups as Shelly Kittleson, was abducted in Baghdad. - AFP