(JNS) Iran’s financing and support for terror proxies is the foremost cause of instability in the Middle East, and the country’s nuclear program could spark a regional arms race, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said this week.

Gantz, who visited New York City, met with U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres and with U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, and also held a briefing for Security Council ambassadors and representatives of signatories to the Abraham Accords, according to a statement from his office.

“I am here because I believe that together we can prevent it—and the time to act is now,” he told the diplomats. “Iranian regional and global terror—whether it comes from Iran proper or via well-funded proxies—threatens our economies, energy resources, food security, trade, freedom of navigation and overall peace and stability. This will only worsen if Iran has a ‘nuclear umbrella.’”