Ambassador's Statement at UNSC: Israeli Regimes Acts of Terrorism

Iran's Ambassador has delivered a statement at the UN Security Council during a session to discuss the latest acts of terrorism perpetrated by the Zionist regime of Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The full text of the statement is as follows:

Statement by

H.E. Mr. Amir Saeid Iravani

Ambassador and Permanent Representative

of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations

Before the United Nations Security Council

Emergency Meeting

New York, 13 June 2025

In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

Madam President,

We extend our sincere congratulations to Guyana on assuming the Presidency of the Security Council this month, and we thank you for your coordination and for convening this urgent and important meeting.

We appreciate USG, Ms. DiCarlo, and DG. Mr. Grossi, for their contribution to this meeting.

We also wish to express our appreciation to Algeria, Pakistan, China, and the Russian Federation for their support in convening this emergency session to address Israel’s unlawful act of aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran, a grave violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations.

I address the Council today on behalf of the people and Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran with the utmost urgency and grave alarm.

Madam President,

Last night, the Israeli regime, the most dangerous and terrorist regime in the world, with full intelligence and political support from the United States regime, conducted a series of coordinated and premeditated military attacks across multiple cities in Iran. These acts of aggression and unlawful strikes target peaceful nuclear facilities, military sites, vital civilian infrastructure, and residential areas.

Among the key targets was the Natanz nuclear facility, a safeguarded site under the full monitoring of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Madam President,

We strongly and unequivocally condemn these barbaric and criminal attacks.  A series of targeted assassinations were against senior military officials, nuclear scientists, and innocent civilians. So far, seventy-eight people, including senior military officials, have been martyred and over 320 others injured, the overwhelming majority of them civilians, including women and children. 

Earlier today, Israel continued its acts of aggression against Iran, once again targeting multiple civilian and military sites across several Iranian cities.

These deliberate and systematic killings were not only illegal but inhumane, a chilling display of calculated aggression.

These atrocities constitute clear acts of state terrorism and flagrant violations of international law.

Madam President,

The inaction of the United Nations, the Security Council, and the IAEA,  despite repeated and documented warnings by the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding Israeli threats against its nuclear sites, has seriously undermined their credibility and authority. Their silence in the face of repeated Israeli provocations has emboldened this rogue regime to escalate its violations and cross every red line.

Let us be clear: this reckless attack on safeguarded nuclear facilities defies not only the fundamental principles of international law but also basic human conscience. Any damage to these facilities risks catastrophic radiological consequences that would not be confined to Iran, but could spread across the region and beyond. Only a regime devoid of humanity and responsibility would endanger millions of lives in pursuit of its destructive ambitions.

These actions stand in direct violation of numerous legal instruments, including the IAEA Statute, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Geneva Conventions, and multiple Security Council and IAEA General Conference resolutions, all of which prohibit attacks or threats against nuclear facilities under safeguards.

Above all, this aggression is a grave breach of the United Nations Charter, particularly Article 2(4), which prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any Member State.

Israel also violated Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Permanent Mission of Iraq today formally protested and condemned this violation of its territorial integrity in a letter to the Security Council and the Secretary-General.

Madam President,

Those who support this regime, with the United States at the forefront, must understand that they are complicit. By aiding and enabling these crimes, they share full responsibility for the consequences. Supporting Israel today is supporting war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the deliberate undermining of global peace and security.

The Israeli regime’s long-standing crimes against the oppressed Palestinian people, its repeated violations of the sovereignty of regional countries, and its possession of undeclared weapons of mass destruction have made the Middle East a cauldron of chronic instability since its creation. It is long overdue for the international community to act: this regime must be disarmed of all WMDs, placed under international supervision, and held fully accountable.

Madam President,

This is not a regional issue. This is not merely an attack on one country. This is a direct assault on the international order, an attack on the Charter of the United Nations, the UN system, the global nuclear non-proliferation regime, as well as the authority of the IAEA.

Israel’s leadership, including its criminal Prime Minister, has shamelessly and publicly claimed responsibility for these heinous acts. Israel's officials said that this aggression aims to “wreck nuclear talks.” This confession alone is enough to reveal the real motives behind the attack: to kill diplomacy, to sabotage negotiations, and to drag the region into wider conflict. This leaves no room for denial.

Furthermore, the aggression was intentional, coordinated, and fully backed by a permanent member of this Council, the United States.

The United States complicity in this terrorist attacks is beyond doubt, the officials of the United States have expressly and brazenly confessed their willful aid and assistance in the crimes and gross violations that the Israeli regime committed as of last night including their deliberate transfer of arms; we will not forget that our people lost their lives as result of the Israeli attacks with American weapons.

These actions amount to a declaration of war. They are the latest in a long and well-documented pattern of lawless, destabilizing, and aggressive behavior by the Israeli regime, a regime that acts with impunity because it is shielded by powerful allies. This must end.

Madam President,

The Security Council must act now, firmly and decisively. In 1981, this very Council responded unanimously to Israel’s military attack on Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor by adopting Resolution 487 (1981), which unequivocally condemned the aggression as a flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations and international law. The Council also called on this criminal regime to refrain from any such acts or threats in the future. Had the Council enforced that resolution and held Israel accountable at the time, this regime would not have been emboldened to continue its unlawful behavior with impunity. The current aggression is a direct consequence of decades of inaction and double standards.

Madam President,

The Islamic Republic of Iran reaffirms its inherent right to self-defense, as enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter. Iran will respond decisively and proportionately to these acts of aggression, at a time, in a place, and by means of its choosing. This is not a threat. It is the natural, legal, and necessary consequence of an unprovoked military attack.

Iran’s response will be firm, lawful, and essential to restore deterrence, defend our sovereignty, and uphold the principles of international law. No aggressor can be allowed to act with impunity.

Madam President,

We have requested this emergency meeting because we expect this Council to fulfill its Charter mandate. The Security Council must condemn, in the strongest possible terms, Israel’s unlawful aggression. It must take immediate, concrete measures to hold the Israeli regime accountable and to prevent the further erosion of international peace and security.

Anything less would signal the collapse of the international system and invite chaos.

Let me conclude with a simple and undeniable truth:

Israel attacked Iran.

Israel violated international law and the UN Charter.

And Israel must be held accountable.

The Security Council must act now and stop these acts of aggression immediately.

Silence is complicity in this crime.

Thank you.