UN Chief Condemns US-Israeli Attacks on Iran in Security Council Meeting

The United Nations chief on Saturday condemned the U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran and called for an immediate return to negotiations "to pull the region, and our world, back from the brink."

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council that everything must be done to prevent further escalation.

"The alternative is a potential wider conflict with grave consequences for civilians and regional stability," he warned.

Guterres also condemned Iran's retaliatory attacks for violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Israel's U.N. ambassador, Danny Danon, told reporters before the meeting that it was "hypocrisy" to condemn the airstrikes.

He said Iran is responsible for the actions of its proxies in the Middle East and for its nuclear and missile programs, and Israel and the U.S. acted "to prevent an irreversible and immediate threat."

The attack on Iran killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, The Associated Press has reported. The killing of the second leader of the Islamic Republic, who had no designated successor, raised the prospects of a protracted conflict given Iran's threats of retaliation.

On social media, President Donald Trump called Khamenei's death "the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country."

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in a letter to the secretary-general, accused the United States and Israel of flagrantly violating Iran's sovereignty and territorial integrity and the U.N. Charter. He said Iran was exercising its right to self-defense under the charter in response.

He urged the council members "to take the necessary and immediate measures to halt this unlawful use of force and to ensure accountability."

He also, called for an unequivocal condemnation of "this act of aggression ... as it undoubtedly poses an unprecedented threat to regional as well as global peace and security."

Five council members — Bahrain, which is the Arab representative on the council, France, Russia, China, and Colombia — called for the emergency meeting.

In a joint statement, the leaders of Britain and France — both veto-wielding members of the council — and Germany's chancellor called for a resumption of U.S.-Iranian talks on Iran's nuclear program.

The three countries, who are part of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, have led efforts to reach a negotiated solution. Trump pulled the U.S. out of the deal in 2018.

The three European leaders condemned Iranian airstrikes in the region — not the U.S.-Israeli airstrikes — and urged Iran's leaders to seek a negotiated solution, saying: "Ultimately, the Iranian people must be allowed to determine their future."

The Security Council meeting is taking place on the last day of the United Kingdom's presidency of the body and a day before the United States takes over the rotating presidency.