As the U.N. Security Council began an emergency meeting Sunday afternoon, called by Iran to address the U.S. strikes on its nuclear program, Secretary General António Guterres recalled in his opening statement that he had urged in a meeting Friday, “Give peace a chance.”

That call, he said, “was not heeded. Instead, the bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities by the United States marks a perilous turn in a region that is already reeling.” The conflict risks “descending into a rat hole of retaliation after retaliation,” he said. To avoid that, diplomacy must prevail and civilians must be protected, Guterres said.

Acting U.S. Representative to the United Nations Dorothy Shea said, “For decades, Iran has been responsible for misery and countless deaths across the Middle East,” including of Americans. She said Iran has “long obfuscated” its nuclear weapons program and “stonewalled” good-faith negotiation efforts.

“The time finally came for the United States, in the defense of its ally and in the defense of our own citizens and interests, to act decisively,” Shea said.

She urged the Security Council to call on Iran to “end its 47-year effort to eradicate the state of Israel; to terminate its drive for nuclear weapons; to stop targeting American citizens and interests; and to negotiate peace in good faith.”