In the aftermath of the first day of US-Israel’s joint military operation against Iran on Saturday, the United States and Israel clashed with the Middle East State at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council later that day.

At the same formal gather, UN chief, aka Secretary-General António Guterres, condemned the violent attacks that first targeted Iran’s capital city, Tehran. On the contrary, most of the 15 members of the United Nations Security Council fell back from calling out the US and Israel explicitly for their strikes on Iran.

The Saturday attack marked a new wave of US intervention in Iran, especially days after US-Iranian talks about the latter’s nuclear program proved fruitless. In the aftermath of the joint attack, two US officials told NBC News that Israel targeted Iranian political and military leaders as part of its ‘Operation Lion’s Roar.’ Meanwhile, America’s ‘Operation Epic Fury’ sought to take out Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs.

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Within hours of the shocking development, Iran responded by its own counter-attack by firing missiles at Israel. Its calculated retaliatory measure also involved taking aim at US bases across the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.

At the time the emergency meeting had convened, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death had yet to be confirmed.

Does UN support US-Israeli attack on Iran?

Describing the day’s event as a great threat to international peace and security, the UN Secretary-General urged the international community to unite and pull the region “back from the brink,” as per the official United Nations press release.

While at the emergency Security Council meeting, he reminded the member counties that Article Two of the UN Charter establishes all Member States “shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State. He further urged that international law and international humanitarian law must always be upheld and respected.

Guterres told the Member States the military action, now embroiling countries across the Middle East, had the risk of “igniting a chain of events that no one can control in the most volatile region of the world.” He went on to reiterate that lasting peace can only be achieved through peace means – genuine dialogue and negotiations.

The UN chief also called for de-escalation and immediate cessation of hostilities, he declared, “I call on all Member States to strictly uphold their obligations under international law, including the UN Charter, to respect and protect civilians in accordance with international humanitarian law, and to ensure nuclear safety.”

In addition to his comments at the meeting, Guterres also expressed the same sentiments against the military attack on Iran in a social media post.

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As per the UN news blog, other reactions from across the United Nations system were as follows:

  • Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO): “I am deeply concerned about the current situation in the Middle East. My heart is with the civilians caught in the crossfire.”
  • Volker Türk, High Commissioner of Human Rights: “As always, in any armed conflict, it is civilians who end up paying the ultimate price.”
  • Annalena Baerbock, President of the General Assembly: “The UN Charter is clear: all Member States must settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.”
  • International Atomic Energy Agency: “The IAEA is closely monitoring developments in the Middle East, and urges restraint to avoid any nuclear safety risks to people in the region.”
  • UN rapporteur  on the right to housing, Balakrishnan Rajagopal: I strongly deplore the attack on Iran by US and Israel and the cowardly complicity of States who approve this or stay silent. So many innocents will die and people’s homes destroyed because of this. US-Israel are destroying world peace and order.

Israel-US and Iran clash at UN meeting

The US Ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, asserted that the United States’ actions were lawful, claiming the strikes were directed towards  dismantling its ballistic missile capabilities, degrading naval assets being used to destabilise international waters and disrupt the machinery that arms proxy militias.

He further pressed the aim was to ensure “the Iranian regime can never, ever threaten the world with a nuclear weapon.” Waltz also warned, “No responsible nation can ignore persistent aggression and violence, adding that Iran’s pursuit of missile capabilities along with its refusal to let go of nuclear ambition despite numerous talks represented, “a grave and mounting danger.”

Similarly, Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Damon defended the military strike as necessary to stop “extremism before it becomes unstoppable,” adding, “We will ensure that no radical regime armed with nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles can threaten our people or the entire world.”

On the contrary, Iran’s Ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, blasted the UN and the Security Council for not paying attention to Tehran’s warnings about the “warmongering statements” by the US in recent weeks. Urging the council to act now, he press that the new wave of airstrikes had killed and injured hundreds of Iranian civilians. He went on to call it a war crime and a crime against humanity.

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“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,” the Iranian official said.

Beyond their respective statements at the council meeting, the Iranian Ambassador hit out against his US counterpart, prompting a tense back-and-forth between the two.

“I advise to the representative of the United States to be polite. It will be better for yourself and the country you represent,” Iravani warned Waltz.

Waltz immediately responded: “I’m not going to dignify this with another response, especially, as 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.”