United Nations: At an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council, the United States and Israel confronted Iran over recent strikes, as many nations and the U.N. chief called for de-escalation and renewed diplomacy to keep the conflict from widening across the region and beyond.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned that urgent steps were needed to prevent further escalation, saying failure to do so risked a broader conflict with severe consequences for civilians and regional stability.
He said the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes violated international law, including the U.N. Charter, and also criticised Iran’s retaliatory attacks for breaching the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, maintained that Washington’s military actions were lawful and said preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons was a global security imperative rather than a political position, AP reported.
Israel’s U.N. ambassador, Danny Danon, argued that the strikes were necessary to counter what Israel views as an existential threat, saying the goal was to halt extremism before it became uncontrollable and to prevent any radical regime equipped with nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles from endangering Israel or the wider world.
Iran’s U.N. ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, told the council that the airstrikes had killed and wounded hundreds of Iranian civilians, describing the attacks as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
He accused the United Nations and the Security Council of failing to heed Tehran’s earlier warnings about escalating rhetoric from Washington and urged the body to act. He said the central issue before the council was whether any member state, including a permanent member, could use force or coercion to determine another country’s political future or exert control over its internal affairs.
During his remarks, the Iranian diplomat did not address President Donald Trump’s claim that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed in the strikes. The reported killing of the Islamic Republic’s second leader, who had no designated successor, was seen as heightening the risk of a prolonged conflict amid Iranian threats of retaliation.