Before the Security Council… Iran emphasizes self-defense and Israel demands sanctions

New York – Iran’s representative to the United Nations confirmed that his country’s forces launched strikes on Israeli military targets within the framework of its “right to self-defense,” while the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations called on the UN Security Council to impose “all possible sanctions” on Tehran following the unlawful attack. Its unprecedented launch once morest Israel.

The delegates spoke during an emergency and open session of the UN Security Council to discuss the Iranian response to Israel, where UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the Middle East is “on the brink of the abyss.”

Iran’s representative, Amir Saeed Iravani, said that his country’s response “was necessary and precise, and we implemented it carefully to reduce the possibility of escalation and prevent harm to civilians,” accusing Israel of violating the United Nations Charter by attacking the Iranian consulate in Damascus.

The Iranian delegate added that “the priority of the United States, Britain and France is to support Israel regardless of the consequences.”

On the other hand, the Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, called on the UN Security Council to impose “all possible sanctions on Iran before it is too late.”

Condemnations of the Iranian response to Israel and calls for calm and prevention of escalation in the region topped the words of member states at the Security Council session.

The US deputy delegate said, “It is the Security Council’s duty not to let Iran’s actions go unanswered,” noting that Washington will take additional measures to hold Iran accountable at the United Nations in consultation with member states.

The American delegate stressed that the United States is not seeking escalation, and “our actions were of a purely defensive nature.”

As for the Russian delegate to the Security Council, he said, “What we are witnessing today in the Security Council is a display of hypocrisy and double standards and is almost shameful.”

He added, “What happened yesterday did not come out of nowhere and was a result of the Council’s inaction in response to Israel’s attack.”

At the same session, Algeria’s representative to the United Nations said that the Middle East is going through a delicate circumstance that requires everyone to submit to international law.

He added, “We are at a crossroads, either abiding by international law or entering into chaos.”

Britain’s representative to the United Nations, Barbara Woodward, also condemned the Iranian attack on Israel, and considered it reckless “because it threatened the lives of thousands of civilians.”

France’s representative to the United Nations, Natalie Broadhurst, condemned the Iranian attack, describing it as “unprecedented.”

Japan’s representative to the United Nations, Ichikan Kimihiro, called on “all parties to condemn the escalation and exercise the utmost restraint in the Middle East.”

For his part, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres urgently called on the Security Council to calm the situation in the Middle East, stressing that the region is “on the brink of an abyss, and the peoples of the region face a real danger of a widespread, destructive conflict.”

He added that it is time to defuse, reduce escalation, and exercise maximum restraint.

“We have a shared responsibility to work for peace,” Guterres said. “Neither the region nor the world can afford another war.”

The Security Council session comes following Israel asked it to condemn the Iranian attack and classify the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization following Tehran launched a drone and missile attack on Israel on Saturday evening, in response to the bombing of the consular section of its embassy in the Syrian capital, Damascus, in early April.

According to Tehran, Israel was the one that launched the missile attack that killed 7 members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, including prominent General Mohammad Reza Zahedi.

Tel Aviv did not officially acknowledge or deny its responsibility for the Damascus attack, and both Iran and Israel consider the other country their first enemy, and there are decades of hostility and mutual accusations between them.