NEW YORK CITY: Closed schools across the Gulf this week are a stark reminder that when conflicts escalate, children are the first to pay the price — with their classrooms, their safety and, too often, their lives — the UN’s secretary general told the Security Council on Monday as the war with Iran entered its third day.
With military confrontations involving Iranian and US-Israeli forces continuing to escalate, causing widespread disruption in the region and growing concerns over safety, authorities in several Gulf states, including the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, ordered schools to remain shut and shift to remote learning. The decision reflects the broader toll on daily life as geopolitical tensions cause ripples throughout the region.
Reports emerged over the weekend from southern Iran of a strike on an elementary school in the town of Minab that allegedly killed dozens of children. US officials said they were looking into the claims.
During an address to the Security Council on Monday, Rosemary A. DiCarlo delivered remarks on behalf of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warning that the world is witnessing the highest number of armed conflicts since the Second World War, and the highest civilian death tolls in decades. The meeting was presided over by First Lady Melania Trump, as the US holds the rotating presidency of the 15-member Security Council this month.
