Cliff Notes
- During an emergency Security Council meeting, Iran condemned US actions as “blatant aggression” and asserted the need for a strong global response against these “crimes.”
- Israel’s ambassador warned that failing to act against Iran could lead to catastrophic consequences, asserting that a nuclear Iran would represent a “death sentence” for Israel.
- The US ambassador accused Iran of deception regarding its nuclear programme and called for an end to its hostile actions towards Israel, seeking international support for this stance.
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UN ambassadors from Israel, Iran and the US have all spoken at an emergency Security Council meeting in New York.
The meeting was called by Tehran following America’s intervention in the Israel-Iran conflict yesterday.
Here’s how each representative used their time at the Council:
Amir-Saeid Iravani (Iran)
Iran condemned “blatant US aggression” and said all American allegations against Iran are “unfounded, with no legal basis and politically motivated”.
He said the timing, nature and scale of Tehran’s response to US strikes will be decided by its armed forces.
“This is a historic test for this Council and for the United Nations as a whole,” he adds.
“Every state and every responsible actor must rise to this occasion and condemn without ambiguity these blatant crimes.”
Danny Danon (Israel)
Speaking last, Danny Danon said the cost of inaction in Iran would have been “catastrophic” and that a nuclear Iran “would have been a death sentence”.
“This is what the last line of defence looks like when every other line has failed,” he said.
Danon also accuses Iran of using nuclear negotiations as “camouflage” to buy time to build missiles and enrich uranium.
Dorothy Shea (US)
America’s ambassador said Iran had “long obfuscated its nuclear weapons programme” and “stonewalled good-faith efforts” by the US in recent nuclear talks.
Dorothy Shea urged the Council to “call on Iran to end its efforts to eradicate Israel” and to “terminate its drive for nuclear weapons”.
Other speakers:
- Russian ambassador Vasily Nebenzya says America has “opened a Pandora’s box” and that nobody knows what new catastrophes it will bring;
- Ambassador to the United Kingdom Barbara Woodward called this a “pivotal moment” for the Middle East and urged Iran to cooperate fully with the UN’s nuclear watchdog;
- China‘s ambassador, Fu Cong, said Beijing “strongly condemns” US attacks on Iran;
- Antonio Gutteres, UN secretary-general, said US strikes constituted a “a perilous turn in a region already reeling”, calling for an end to “another cycle of destruction”.