UN Security Council holds emergency meeting on deadly protests in Iran

Iranian and US officials traded barbs astatine UN Security Council gathering connected deadly protests successful Iran and amid threats of onslaught by Washington.

The United Nations Security Council has held an exigency gathering to sermon deadly protests successful Iran amid threats by United States President Donald Trump to intervene militarily successful the country.

Members of the influential 15-member UN assemblage heard from Iran’s lawman UN representative, who warned astatine the gathering connected Thursday that Iranians did not question a confrontation but would respond to US aggression, and accused Washington of “direct engagement successful steering unrest successful Iran”.

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US typical Mike Waltz utilized his prepared remarks astatine the gathering to criticise the Iranian government’s response to the protests, noting that the ongoing net blackout successful Iran made it hard to verify the existent grade of the crackdown by authorities there.

“The radical of Iran are demanding their state similar ne'er earlier successful the Islamic Republic’s brutal history,” Waltz said, adding that Iran’s claims that the protests were “a overseas crippled to springiness a precursor to subject action” were a motion that its authorities was “afraid of their ain people”.

Waltz did not notation to the threats of subject involution successful Iran that Trump has repeatedly made implicit the past week, earlier the president appeared to easiness his escalating rhetoric implicit the past day.

Iran’s lawman UN envoy Gholamhossein Darzi told the assembly that his state “seeks neither escalation nor confrontation”.

“However, immoderate enactment of aggression, nonstop oregon indirect, volition beryllium met with a decisive, proportionate, and lawful effect nether Article 51 of the UN Charter,” Darzi said.

“This is not a threat; it is simply a connection of ineligible reality. Responsibility for each consequences volition remainder solely with those who initiate specified unlawful acts,” helium said.

UN Assistant Secretary-General Martha Pobee briefed the council, saying that the “popular protests” successful Iran “have rapidly evolved into nationwide upheaval, resulting successful important nonaccomplishment of life” since opening adjacent to 3 weeks ago.

“Demonstrations started connected 28 December 2025, arsenic a radical of shopkeepers successful Tehran’s Grand Bazaar gathered to protestation the crisp illness of the currency and soaring inflation, amid a wider economical downturn and worsening surviving conditions,” Pobee said.

She added that quality rights monitors person reported “mass arrests” successful Iran, “with estimates exceeding 18,000 detainees arsenic of mid-January 2026”, but noted that the “UN cannot verify these figures”.

She called connected Iran to dainty detainees humanely and “to halt immoderate executions linked to protest-related cases”.

“All deaths should beryllium promptly, independently, and transparently investigated,” Pobee added.

“Those liable for immoderate violations indispensable beryllium held to relationship successful enactment with planetary norms and standards.”

Iranian ‍Foreign ‍Minister Abbas Araghchi denied connected Wednesday that Tehran had plans to execute antigovernment protesters.

In an interrogation with Fox News, Araghchi said “there is nary program for hanging astatine all” erstwhile asked whether determination were plans to execute protesters.

“Hanging is ‌out of the ‌question,” helium ⁠said.

The UNSC besides heard from 2 representatives of Iranian civilian society, including Iranian-American writer and authorities professional Masih Alinejad, who told the assembly that “real and factual action” is “needed present to bring justness to those who bid massacres successful Iran”.

Addressing Darzi and the Iranian government, Alinejad said: “You person tried to termination maine 3 times … My crime? Simply echoing the dependable of guiltless radical that you kill.”

Thursday’s gathering came arsenic the US imposed further sanctions against the Iranian leadership, including Ali Larijani, the caput of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), and respective different officials, who it said were the “architects” of Tehran’s “brutal” effect to the demonstrations.

Iran has already been nether heavy sanctions for years, further worsening the economical situation that has, successful part, spurred the caller question of nationalist protests.

Iranian-American writer and writer Masih Alinejad speaks during a UNSC league connected the deadly Iran protests astatine UN office successful New York, connected Thursday [Sarah Yenesel/EPA]