UN chief calls for maximum restraint after resumption of U.S.-Iran hostilities

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for maximum restraint following the resumption of hostilities over the weekend between the United States and Iran, his spokesperson said Monday.

"The resumption of exchange of fire between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran is very regrettable, to say the very least. We had about a month of relative calm. Again, secretary-general urges everyone maximum restraint. He encourages a return to diplomatic activity, to diplomatic talks that would lead to a settlement, to help restore stability and confidence in the region," said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman.

U.S. forces on Sunday struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island, marking the first known U.S. strike against Iran since late July.

Following the attack, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement that multiple military personnel and civilians were killed or wounded in the "U.S.-Israeli" attack and vowed that the strike would be met "with punishment for the aggressor."

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that Iran does not seek war, but will respond with strength and decisiveness to any aggression, according to a statement by his office.

The IRGC claimed on Monday that it had attacked U.S. military targets in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, and shot down a U.S. drone over the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. President Donald Trump vowed on Monday retaliation against Iran after Tehran fired ballistic missiles at U.S. forces in Jordan.

Confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have surpassed 6,000, with nearly 3,000 deaths, according to the latest figures released Monday.

Local authorities reported that as of Saturday, the DRC had recorded 6,041 confirmed cases across six provinces, including 2,911 deaths, bringing the overall case fatality rate to 48.2 percent. A total of 1,366 patients have recovered.

The outbreak has now affected 60 health zones in the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele, Bas-Uele and Tshopo.

The current outbreak, declared in May, has since become the country's largest and deadliest Ebola epidemic on record and the second-largest globally, behind the 2014-2016 epidemic in West Africa.