Iran’s aggressive practices in several Arab states as well as the Palestinian cause were on Thursday the main topics of discussions during a Security Council debate on the situation in the Middle East. Saudi Arabias Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Abdullah al-Muallami demanded the Security Council to take a decisive stance from Tehran’s aggressive practices in the region. Iran funded Hezbollah and fueled war in Syria and Yemen, he said. Missiles fired into Saudi Arabia from Yemen had been manufactured by Iran, he emphasized, citing expert reports. Iran acted in clear violation of Council resolutions, he said, urging the Council to not tolerate Iran’s aggression. Regarding the situation in the Palestinian territories, he noted that the Kingdom has stressed that the Palestinian cause is essential for Arab nations, and that Israel must withdraw from all occupied Arab territories. At the start of the session, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nikolay Mladenov said that with tensions mounting across the region, the lack of progress should worry everyone. “The fires of the Middle East continue to expand and shift, and the Israeli‑Palestinian conflict remains a perpetual source of oxygen for militants and radicals across the Middle East,” he said. “What happens in the Middle East today has immediate implications for the rest of the world,” said the envoy. Mladenov urged Israel to "minimize the use of live fire" in the protests that began on March 30 near the Gaza-Israeli border fence, and stressed that "lethal force should be used only as a last resort." Hamas and the protest leaders must, in turn, keep away from the fence, he said. "Gaza is coming apart as we speak under the pressure of an explosive combination of negative humanitarian, security and political factors," the envoy added. Palestinian Permanent Observer Riyad Mansour told the Council that Gaza Strip residents “had long been subjected to an illegal Israeli blockade that only compounded their misery.” He stressed that the Palestinians had organized peaceful and unarmed protests to demand their rights. The diplomat told the Council that 74 Palestinians were killed and more than 5,000 were injured in the latest protests. The US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, focused in her statement on “the use of women, children and men as human shields.” The use of human shields was present in conflicts across the region, including by ISIS in Iraq, Hezbollah and Houthi insurgents, she said. Iran was the patron of many groups using human shields, which was part of its overarching efforts to destabilize the region, Haley added. As for UK Ambassador Karen Pierce, she urged Israel for maximum restraint in dealing with the protests in Gaza.