HAMILTON, Canada

The UN on Monday warned against further escalation of tensions in the Middle East amid reports of Iranian strikes on an American airbase in Qatar.

"I haven't seen the reports you mentioned. But, obviously, any increase in military activities or continued retaliation, as the secretary-general (Antonio Guterres) warned, just increases destabilization," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a news conference.

Dujarric also warned that the latest escalation "pushes us deeper into what he (Guterres) referred to yesterday as this rathole of retaliation."

Asked whether UN personnel based in Qatar had been ordered to move, he said: "I have not heard of any movement."

His remarks come following reports of Iran announcing the launch of a military operation against US bases in Qatar and Iraq.

According to Iranian media, Tehran's attacks began as part of Operation Bashayer Al-Fath, or Glad Tidings of Victory.