The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on Sunday after Iran’s attack on Israel.
The meeting was requested by Israel’s permanent representative to the UN, Gilad Erdan, who called council members to “unequivocally condemn Iran and immediately act to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization.”
The US and Iran traded accusations at the UNSC meeting, reported Arab News. The US ambassador, Robert Wood, warned that “if Iran or its proxies take actions against the US or further action against Israel, Iran will be held responsible.”
He condemned Iran’s attack against Israel, saying that “Security Council has an obligation to not let Iran’s actions go unanswered.” He added that Iran “has flagrantly violated its international legal obligations through the actions of its IRGC, by arming Hezbollah, by arming, facilitating and enabling Houthi attacks.”
Wood said the US would “explore additional measures to hold Iran accountable at the UN,” calling the UN Security Council to condemn Iran’s actions.
Israel’s representative, Gilad Erdan, called the UNSC to condemn Iran and “utilize every means necessary to make them pay a heavy price for their actions.” He warned that Tehran is moving fast towards nuclear capabilities. “Impose sanctions on Iran before it is too late,” he said.
On Saturday night, Iran attacked Israel with hundreds of drones and missiles, in retaliation against Israel’s strike on its consular building in Damascus on April 1, which killed 7 revolutionary guards, including two senior commanders.
Iran said that its attack against Israel is in line with Article 51 of the UN Charter, which invokes the “inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security.”
Iran’s permanent representative to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, said that his country’s attack on Israel was “precise, only targeted military objectives and was carried out carefully to minimize the potential for escalation and prevents civilian harm.”
He added that Iran has no intention of engaging in a military conflict with the US in the region, but warned that it will use “its inherent right to respond proportionately” if the US initiates an attack against it, its citizens or security interests.
Iravani accused Western members of the UNSC of hypocrisy, and of deliberately ignoring Iran’s “inherent right to respond to the violation of a fundamental principle of international law: the inviolability of diplomatic representative and premises.”
Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzia, accused the Council of hypocrisy and double standards for failing to convene after Israel’s attack on Iran’s consulate in Damascus, or “regular attacks by Israel against Syria and Lebanon.”
China’s deputy permanent representative Dai Bing cited Iran’s statement that its military action was in response to Israel’s aggression and “the matter can be deemed concluded,” he said. Dai warned that if the conflict in Gaza continued unabated, “then the adverse spillover is set to spread further, making the region even more unstable.”
Algeria’s deputy permanent representative, Nacim Gaouaoui, said that these developments cannot turn the attention away from the central issue “which is the aggression on the Palestinian people in Gaza, and at the same time, it can never be used as a pretext or cover to launch a land attack against Rafah.”
Gaouaoui reiterated Algeria’s call for ceasefire and an end for Israel’s aggression against Palestinians.
