UN Security Council Convenes Emergency Session as Iran Retaliates Against Israel with Missile Strikes
United Nations : The United Nations Security Council held an emergency session on Friday following Iran’s large-scale missile attack on Israel, launched in retaliation for strikes on its nuclear facilities. The escalating confrontation has drawn international concern, with the UN and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warning of grave regional and global consequences.
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi condemned military actions involving nuclear facilities, stating, “Any military action that jeopardises the safety and security of nuclear facilities risks grave consequences for the people of Iran, the region, and beyond.” He reminded Council members that the IAEA General Conference has affirmed such attacks as violations of the UN Charter and international law.
The emergency session was requested by Iran, which has accused Israel of deliberately undermining ongoing diplomatic efforts. UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, warned of the growing threat of wider war. “We must at all costs avoid a growing conflagration which would have enormous global consequences,” she said.
DiCarlo noted that the Israeli strike occurred during a critical period of diplomacy, including planned talks between the United States and Iran in Oman, which Iran has now withdrawn from. “A peaceful resolution through negotiations remains the best means to ensure the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme,” she urged.
Tensions Rise Amidst Stalled Diplomacy
U.S. State Department official McCoy Pitt reiterated Washington’s openness to diplomacy. “We seek a secure peace,” Pitt said. “As President Trump stated, the violence must come to an end, and Iran should make a deal so there is ‘no more death, no more destruction’.”
Pitt emphasized that the United States would continue efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Although he denied U.S. involvement in the Israeli operation, he acknowledged Washington had been informed beforehand.
President Trump, during his first term, withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 nuclear agreement. However, recent backchannel efforts to revive talks with Tehran were reportedly underway before the Israeli strike derailed them.
Iran’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, accused Israel of attempting to sabotage diplomacy and pull the region into war. “The Israeli attack was intended to kill diplomacy, sabotage negotiations, and drag the region into a wider conflict,” he stated, also blaming the U.S. for complicity.
Israel Defends Its Strike as a ‘Preventive Action’
Israel’s UN envoy, Danny Danon, defended the military operation as a defensive measure, calling it “an act of national preservation.” Displaying an image of a countdown clock reportedly displayed in Tehran symbolizing Iran’s pledge to annihilate Israel Danon said, “Our mission was to neutralise the Iranian regime’s ability to follow through on its repeated public promise to destroy the State of Israel.”
Danon insisted the strikes were “precise and specifically targeted nuclear facilities.”
As tensions soar, global leaders are calling for restraint and a return to diplomatic channels to avoid further destabilisation in the Middle East.
