Iran vowed at the United Nations on Monday that it would not submit to "lawless aggression", saying 90 million citizens were in "grave danger" from U.S. and Israeli strikes.
At the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, where countries were discussing the rights situation in Iran, UN experts highlighted Tehran's deadly crackdown on protesters in recent months and warned that repression would likely worsen amid the Middle East conflict.
Iran's ambassador Ali Bahreini hit back, insisting the focus instead should be on the aggression against his country, "carried out by some of the most lawless and unscrupulous actors on the international stage."
"The most urgent and fundamental human rights issue concerning Iran is the imminent threat to the lives of 90 million people whose lives are in immediate and grave danger under the shadow of reckless military aggression," he told the council.
Bahreini said that if such "reckless militarism" was met with indifference, "Iran will most certainly not be the last country to suffer such treatment."
On Feb. 28, the U.S. and Israel launched a joint operation against Iran, which in return struck targets in multiple countries in the Middle East.
During the session on Iran's record, Bahreini urged the U.N.'s top rights body to instead discuss the Iranian cultural heritage under "indiscriminate" attack and "the innocent children massacred at their school desks."
Iran has accused the U.S. and Israel of conducting a deadly missile attack on a school in the southern city of Minab. The Trump administration has said it is investigating the incident.
The ambassador said more than 1,300 people had been killed in Iran and more than 7,000 injured since the U.S.-Israeli strikes began.
"Under such circumstances, what exactly is Iran expected to do?" he said, adding, "Iran is not a nation that submits to coercion, intimidation or lawless aggression."
The six Gulf Cooperation Council countries, plus Jordan, condemned Iran's attacks on their territories, saying they endangered regional security and civilian lives, and "cannot be justified under any pretext".
The U.S. and Israel have stopped participating in the Human Rights Council.
Russia condemned the U.S. and Israel for "seeking to destroy this dissenting country" and urged them to "end their aggressive actions."
China said it was "gravely concerned" by the strikes against Iran, condemned all attacks on civilians and urged all parties to "cease military operations immediately and return to dialogue".
Britain said it wanted a "swift return to security and stability" and said Tehran must not "exploit conflict to inflict further violence on its people."
France said a lasting diplomatic solution was necessary "to end the war and for Iran to stop being a threat to its neighbors and the entire international community."