Iran's UN envoy warns Security Council over US and Israeli military threats

Iran's ambassador and chargé d'affaires to the United Nations, Gholamhossein Darzi, has sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the president of the Security Council warning about threats from US President Donald Trump and Israel, according to Mehr News. The letter described the threats as part of what it called US and Israeli wars of aggression against Iran that began on June 13, 2025 and Feb. 28, 2026, alongside deliberate attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure. Darzi said the threats risk further serious violations of international law with catastrophic humanitarian consequences and dangers to regional and international peace and security, and warned that responsibility rests with the United States, Israel and anyone who directly or indirectly supports their actions.

The letter cited US media reports dated Oct. 15, 2026 that the White House and Pentagon had prepared military options including the possible use of the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast, known as the "mother of all bombs," against Iran. It said Trump discussed the weapon in a television interview the same day and threatened Iran with further attacks. It added that Israeli war minister Yisrael Katz announced on Oct. 18, 2026 that Israel was ready to attack Iran and that in any new aggression "all energy facilities" would be targeted, with the stated aim of returning Iran to the "Stone Age." Katz also claimed the United States and Israel had dropped 35,000 bombs on Iran in total and said their military campaign was not over. The letter said Israel's prime minister, whom it described as a war criminal under international prosecution, again openly declared an intent to preemptively start another war of aggression against Iran, and that the silence and explicit support of some Security Council members had made him more brazen.

According to the letter, the threats amount to gross violations of international law, including the threat to use the MOAB against civilian infrastructure and to target all of Iran's energy infrastructure. It said attempts to spread fear among Iran's population or any threat to deliberately destroy critical civilian infrastructure are new instances of gross violations of international humanitarian law with severe and possibly long-term humanitarian and environmental consequences, increasing the responsibility of the United States and Israel. It said both have repeatedly shown they do not consider themselves bound by any rules of international law, including obligations under the four 1949 Geneva Conventions and customary international humanitarian law.

Iran asked the UN secretary-general and the Security Council to demand that the United States and Israel immediately end their unlawful threats and fully comply with their obligations under the UN Charter and peremptory norms of international law. It also asked them to explicitly and unambiguously condemn threats to attack Iran, including its critical civilian infrastructure, used as a tool of coercion and intimidation. Iran further asked the Security Council to take urgent measures within its powers, including holding an emergency meeting to address the threats to regional and international peace and security and to ensure accountability for the United States and Israel. It asked the Council to guarantee accountability and full compensation for damages caused by wrongful international acts that it said the United States and Israel commit against Iran daily.

The letter said the Security Council cannot remain silent in the face of explicit threats of further aggression and destruction of critical civilian infrastructure, warning that inaction would further weaken the Charter and the international legal order on which the UN system is built. Iran reaffirmed its inherent right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter and its determination to take all necessary measures against any source of threat endangering its people, sovereignty, territorial integrity and vital national interests. It said that if the Security Council fails in its responsibilities, Iran will exercise its right of self-defense and give a decisive response in line with international law to protect its supreme national interests. It said the United States and Israel will bear full responsibility for the consequences of any further aggression, including the risk of unpredictable and uncontrollable escalation. Iran requested that the letter be distributed as an official document of the General Assembly and the Security Council, Mehr News reported.