UNITED NATIONS — Secretary-General António Guterres issued a stern condemnation of recent U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran during an emergency Security Council session convened Saturday. The UN leader characterized the situation as pushing the world toward catastrophic escalation and demanded immediate diplomatic reengagement to avert broader regional conflict.
Guterres emphasized the critical need to prevent further deterioration of regional stability, warning that alternative outcomes could include severe humanitarian consequences and widespread instability. The Secretary-General simultaneously denounced Iran’s retaliatory measures against multiple Middle Eastern nations, including Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as violations of sovereign territories.
The emergency meeting, requested by five Security Council members (Bahrain, France, Russia, China, and Colombia), occurred during a significant transitional period—the final day of the United Kingdom’s presidency before the United States assumes rotational leadership for March.
Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon preemptively dismissed criticism as hypocritical, asserting that Iran’s proxy operations, nuclear ambitions, and missile programs justified preventive measures against what he described as an imminent threat. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi formally accused the United States and Israel of blatantly violating international law and the UN Charter, maintaining that Iran’s actions constituted legitimate self-defense.
European powers—Britain, France, and Germany—issued a collective statement condemning Iranian regional airstrikes while urging renewed diplomatic efforts regarding Tehran’s nuclear program. These nations, original signatories to the 2015 nuclear agreement from which the U.S. withdrew in 2018, emphasized that the Iranian people should ultimately determine their nation’s future trajectory.