United Nations Chief Condemns U.S.-Israeli Attacks On Iran
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — United Nations the chief condemned US-Israeli air strike on Iran and called for an immediate return to negotiations “to pull the region and our world back from the brink.”
Everything must be done to prevent further escalation, Secretary-General António Guterres told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Saturday. “The alternative,” he warned, “is a broader potential conflict that could have serious consequences for civilians and regional stability.”
Guterres also condemned Iran’s retaliatory attacks that violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Speaking to reporters before the meeting, Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon said it was “hypocrisy” to condemn the airstrikes. Iran is responsible for the actions of its proxies in the Middle East and its nuclear and missile programs, he said, adding that Israel and the United States took action “to prevent an irreversible and immediate threat.”
Supreme Leader Ayatollah killed in attack on Iran Ali KhameneiThe Associated Press reported. The killing of the Islamic Republic’s second leader, whose successor is unknown, raised the prospect of a protracted conflict, given the threat of Iranian retaliation. President Donald Trump called her death on social media “the best chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country.”
In a letter to the secretary-general, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States and Israel of “blatantly” violating Iran’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and the UN Charter. In response, Iran exercised its right to self-defense under the statute, he said.
He called on council members to “take the necessary and urgent measures to stop this unlawful use of force and ensure accountability.” And he called for unequivocal condemnation, saying “there is no doubt that this act of aggression… poses an unprecedented threat to both regional and global peace and security.”
Five council members (the Arab representative on the council, Bahrain, France, Russia, China and Colombia) called an emergency meeting.
In a joint statement, the leaders of Britain and France and the German chancellor, both veto-wielding members of the council, called for a resumption of US-Iran talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme. The three countries, which were part of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, led efforts to reach a negotiated solution. Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement in 2018.
The three European leaders strongly condemned Iranian airstrikes in the region, but not the US-Israeli airstrikes, and called on Iranian leaders to seek a negotiated solution: “Ultimately, the Iranian people must be allowed to determine their own future.”
The Security Council meeting takes place on the last day of the UK presidency and a day before the US assumes the rotating presidency in March.
