The United Nations Security Council has called for an immediate halt to hostilities between the United States, Israel and Iran following escalating military strikes that have heightened fears of a wider regional conflict.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned during an emergency council meeting on Saturday that urgent steps must be taken to prevent further escalation.
“The alternative is a potential wider conflict with grave consequences for civilians and regional stability,” Guterres said, stressing the need for renewed diplomatic engagement.
He stated that U.S. and Israeli airstrikes violated international law and the U.N. Charter, while also condemning Iran’s retaliatory attacks for breaching the sovereignty of several Gulf states, including Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, defended Washington’s actions, insisting the strikes were lawful and necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
“Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Waltz told the council, describing the operation as a matter of global security rather than politics.
Israel’s envoy, Danny Danon, also justified the attacks, saying they were aimed at stopping what he described as an existential threat posed by Iran.
Iran’s ambassador to the U.N., Amir Saeid Iravani, condemned the strikes, accusing the United States and Israel of committing war crimes that resulted in civilian casualties.
He urged the Security Council to act against what he called aggression aimed at determining Iran’s political future through force.
Tensions rose further during the session as U.S. and Iranian diplomats exchanged sharp warnings, highlighting concerns that the confrontation could expand into a broader regional war.
Russia’s U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, demanded an immediate end to U.S. and Israeli military actions and called for a return to diplomacy, while China’s envoy, Fu Cong, expressed concern over the sudden escalation and supported renewed negotiations.
The emergency meeting was convened at the request of Bahrain, France, Russia, China and Colombia amid growing international alarm following strikes linked to the reported death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.
Meanwhile, leaders of Britain, France and Germany jointly called for the resumption of U.S.-Iran talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme, urging all parties to pursue diplomatic solutions to prevent further instability in the Middle East.
The meeting took place on the final day of the United Kingdom’s rotating presidency of the Security Council, ahead of the United States assuming the role for March.
