US, Israel defend strikes on Iran as lawful at heated UN Security Council meeting

Islamic Republic’s ambassador calls death of civilians amid joint attack a crime against humanity; US counterpart trades barbs over regime’s mass killing of protesters last month

The United States and Israel clashed with Iran at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Saturday as the United Nations chief led calls for a halt to attacks by either side and a return to negotiations to prevent the conflict from spreading further.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the council that everything must be done to prevent an escalation. “The alternative,” he warned, “is a potential wider conflict with grave consequences for civilians and regional stability.”

Guterres said the US and Israeli airstrikes violated international law, including the UN Charter. He also condemned Iran’s retaliatory attacks for violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Bot the US and Israel have described the attacks as preemptive, aimed at stopping a regime that poses an existential threat to Israel.

“We are stopping extremism before it becomes unstoppable,” Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon said. “We will ensure that no radical regime armed with nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles can threaten our people or the entire world.”

US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told the council that Operation Epic Fury, authorized by US President Donald Trump against Iran, was aimed at dismantling the Islamic Republic’s missile capabilities, degrading its naval assets, disrupting the machinery that arms proxy militias, and ensuring that the regime can never obtain a nuclear weapon.

“Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” he said. “That principle is not a matter of politics. It’s a matter of global security. And to that end, the United States is taking lawful actions.”

Notably, Waltz’s list did not include regime change, even though Trump earlier said that Iranians should take over their government once the strikes subside.

“No responsible nation can ignore persistent aggression and violence,” Waltz said of Iran.

“Peace is not preserved by appeasing those who threaten it. Peace is preserved through strength in the face of terror,” he continued. “History has taught us that the cost of inaction is far greater than the burden of decisive action.”

Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the UN, told the council that the airstrikes have killed and injured hundreds of Iranian civilians, which he called a war crime and a crime against humanity.

He blasted the UN and the Security Council, its most powerful body, for not heeding Tehran’s warnings about the “warmongering statements” by the US in recent weeks and urged the council to act now.

“The issue before the council is straightforward: whether any member state may, including a permanent member of this council, through the use of force, coercion or aggression, determine the political future or system of another state or impose control over its affairs,” Iravani said.

During his speech, the Iranian diplomat did not mention or comment on US President Donald Trump’s statement that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the strikes, although Iranian state media later confirmed his death.

Iran responded to his killing by vowing unprecedented retaliatory attacks, drawing fresh threats from Trump that he too would deploy “force that has never been seen before.”

American, Iranian envoys have rare direct exchange

In a rare exchange, the US and Iranian ambassadors traded warnings and direct rebuffs toward the end of the emergency session as military aggression between their countries risked spilling into a regional war.

After Waltz responded to Iranian claims that the US had violated international law, Iravani asked to speak again to issue a warning: “I advise to the representative of the United States to be polite. It will be better for yourself and the country you represent.”

Waltz responded immediately, saying, “This representative sits here, in this body, representing a regime that has killed tens of thousands of its own people, and imprisoned many more, simply for wanting freedom from your entire tyranny.”

Russia’s ambassador condemned the US-Israeli airstrikes, while China’s ambassador was more measured in his criticism.

“We demand that the United States and Israel immediately cease their aggressive actions,” Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said. “We insist on the immediate resumption of political and diplomatic settlement efforts… based on international law, mutual respect and a balance of interests.”

China’s UN Ambassador Fu Cong said China was very concerned by “the sudden escalation of regional tensions” and supported Russia’s call for a return to diplomatic negotiations.

The permanent observer of the 22-nation Arab League, Maged Abdelaziz, suggested Israel was being hypocritical in justifying its military attack by saying it was intended to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Abdelaziz, a former Egyptian ambassador to the UN, noted that Israel has refused to subject its own nuclear facilities to inspection by the UN nuclear watchdog.

The emergency meeting was called by five council members: Bahrain, which is the Arab representative on the council, France, Russia, China and Colombia.

In a joint statement, the leaders of Britain and France — both veto-wielding members of the council — along with Germany’s chancellor called for a resumption of US-Iranian talks on Tehran’s nuclear program. The three countries, part of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, have led efforts to reach a negotiated solution. Trump pulled the US out of the deal in 2018.

The three European leaders strongly condemned Iranian airstrikes in the region — not the US and Israeli airstrikes — and urged Iran’s leaders to seek a negotiated solution, saying: “Ultimately, the Iranian people must be allowed to determine their future.”

The Security Council meeting took place on the last day of the United Kingdom’s presidency and a day before the United States takes over the rotating presidency for the month of March.