US, Iran clash at UN over nuclear site strikes as tensions escalate

United Nations: The US and Iran exchanged sharp accusations at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Monday (Indian time), following US military strikes on three of Iran’s major nuclear facilities, an operation that has drawn global attention and concern over the potential for broader conflict.

Addressing the Council a day after US President Donald Trump confirmed American forces struck the Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan nuclear sites, acting US Ambassador to the UN, Dorothy Camille Shea, said that the strikes were aimed at dismantling Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and ending the nuclear threat posed by what she called the “world’s foremost state sponsor of terror”.

“This operation sought to eliminate a longstanding but rapidly escalating source of global insecurity and to aid our ally Israel in our inherent right of collective self-defence consistent with the UN Charter,” she added.

Shea accused Iran of long obstructing transparency in its nuclear activities, saying it has “stonewalled good-faith efforts” in recent negotiations.

“For 40 years, the Iranian government has called for ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel’ and posed a constant menace to the peace and security of its neighbours, the US, and the entire world,” she added.

Shea warned Tehran against further escalation, saying, “As President Trump said, any Iranian attack — direct or indirect — against Americans or American bases will be met with devastating retaliation.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s UN envoy Amir Saeid Iravani condemned the strikes as a “blatant crime” and accused the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of dragging Trump into a conflict that began on June 13 with an Israeli assault on Iranian nuclear sites and scientists.

“The US decided to destroy diplomacy,” Iravani said, adding that Iran’s armed forces would determine the “timing, nature and scale” of a proportionate response.

Blaming the Israeli Prime Minister directly, he said, “The internationally wanted war criminal Netanyahu succeeded in hijacking US foreign policy, dragging the US into yet another costly, baseless war.”

He called the strikes “profoundly heartbreaking,” stating, “Today, another stain was recorded in the political history of the US.”

He reminded the Council that the US, a founding member of the UN and signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), had once again resorted to the use of force despite being the only country to have used nuclear weapons in conflict.

Iravani also targeted Israel, calling it “an outlaw nuclear-armed regime that refused to join the NPT” and has for decades promoted a “false narrative” about Iran’s nuclear intentions without providing “a shred of evidence”.

“This is a historic test for this Council, for the United Nations as a whole. If this Council fails to act and condemn this blatant aggression, the stain of complicity will forever remain on its conscience, as it does with Gaza,” he warned.

Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, defended the US actions, saying “history changed” with the strikes.

“The US, the leader of the free world, removed the greatest existential threat facing the free world. Just like our Operation Rising Lion, this was not a war of choice. This action was a necessity. It was a righteous act for the United States, for Israel, for the Middle East, and for the world,” he said.

Danon praised American leadership during the crisis: “Let the record show that when the world stood at the edge of a nuclear disaster, America stepped forward. When time ran out, America showed courage. And when the moment came to confront the forces of extinction, America led.”

He accused Tehran of using the negotiating table as a cover while advancing its missile and uranium enrichment programs.

“Make no mistake, the cost of inaction would have been catastrophic. A nuclear Iran would have been a death sentence just as much for you as it would have for us,” he said.

Danon also said that Iran’s influence extended well beyond its borders, arming militias in Iraq, funding the Houthis in Yemen, plotting murder in Europe, and threatening Western capitals with its growing ballistic missile arsenal.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed grave concern over the developments, warning that the US bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities marks a “perilous turn” for a region already under immense strain.

“We must act immediately and decisively to halt the fighting and return to serious, sustained negotiations on the Iran nuclear program. We need a credible, comprehensive and verifiable solution, one that restores trust,” Guterres said.

He emphasised the crossroads facing the international community: “We face a stark choice amid the escalation in the Middle East. One way leads to wider war, deeper suffering and serious damage to the international order. The other leads to de-escalation, diplomacy and dialogue. We know which way is right.”

IANS