Iranian and US officials traded barbs at a UN Security Council meeting over deadly protests in Iran and threats of attack from Washington.
The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting to discuss the deadly protests in Iran between threats US President Donald Trump has intervened militarily in the country.
Members of the influential 15-member UN body heard from Iran’s deputy UN representative, who warned at a meeting on Thursday that Iranians are not seeking conflict but will respond to US aggression and accused Washington of “direct involvement in fueling unrest in Iran”.
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U.S. Representative Mike Waltz criticized the meeting, using the prepared remarks Iranian government response The protests came noting that the ongoing internet blackout in Iran has made it difficult for authorities there to verify the true extent of the crackdown.
“The people of Iran are demanding freedom like never before in the brutal history of the Islamic Republic,” Waltz said, adding that Iran’s claim that the protests were a “foreign ploy to preempt military action” was a sign that its government was “fearing its own people.”
Waltz did not refer to threats of military intervention in Iran that Trump has repeatedly made in the past week, before the president appeared to tone down his heightened rhetoric last day.
Iran’s deputy UN envoy, Gholamhossein Darzi, told the conference that his country “does not want escalation or conflict”.
“However, any act of direct or indirect aggression will be met with a decisive, proportionate and lawful response under Article 51 of the UN Charter,” Darzi said.
“This is not a threat; it is a statement of legal reality. All consequences will be borne solely by those who initiate such illegal activities,” he said.
UN Assistant Secretary-General Martha Poby informed the conference that the “popular protests” in Iran “have rapidly evolved into a nationwide upheaval, resulting in significant casualties since it began nearly three weeks ago”.
“The protests began on December 28, 2025, as a group of shopkeepers in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar gathered to protest the currency’s sharp fall and rising inflation, amid a widespread economic recession and deteriorating living conditions,” Poby said.
She added that human rights watchdogs have reported “mass detentions” in Iran, “estimated at more than 18,000 prisoners by mid-January 2026”, but noted that “the UN cannot verify these figures”.
She called on Iran to treat prisoners humanely and to “stop any executions related to sanctions-related cases”.
“All deaths must be investigated promptly, independently and transparently,” Poby added.
“Those responsible for any violations must be held accountable in accordance with international norms and standards.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arghchi Tehran denied on Wednesday that it planned to execute anti-government protesters.
In an interview with Fox News, when asked if there were plans to execute protesters, Araghchi said “there are no plans to execute”.
“Hanging is out of the question,” he said.
The UNSC also heard two representatives of Iranian civil society, including an Iranian-American journalist and a government critic. Masih Alinejad, who told the council that “real and concrete action” is now needed to bring “those who ordered the massacre in Iran to justice.”
Addressing Darzi and the Iranian government, Alinjad said: “You have tried to kill me three times … my crime? Just echoing the voices of the innocent people you killed.”
Thursday’s meeting was held as imposed by the US Further approval Against the Iranian leadership, including Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Larijani and several other officials, who are the “architects” of Tehran’s “brutal” response to the protests.
Iran is already internal Heavy clearance Over the years, the worsening financial crisis has, in part, fueled the recent wave of public protests.
