United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday expressed his "deep regret" over the U.S. decision to withdraw from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. [File photo: Xinhua]

"The Secretary-General regrets this development deeply, considering the major U.S. role in UNESCO since its founding," Guterres' deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said in a statement.

The U.S. government announced on Thursday that it would withdraw from UNESCO, after years of America distancing itself from the UN organization because of what it called the group's "anti-Israel bias."