Iran Formally Requests UN Security Council Action, Citing U.S. and Israeli ‘Armed Aggression’
United Nations – Iran has officially called on the United Nations Security Council to convene an emergency session and take immediate action against what it describes as coordinated acts of “armed aggression” by the United States and Israel against its sovereign territory.
In a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and UK’s James Kariuki, who holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council for March, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi vehemently condemned recent airstrikes that targeted sites inside Iran.
The letter, which was also circulated to all UN member states, asserts that the strikes hit multiple defense installations and civilian sites in several Iranian cities. Araghchi characterized the attacks as a “blatant violation of Iran’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity” and a direct breach of Article 2, Paragraph 4 of the UN Charter, which prohibits member states from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity of any state.
Invocation of Self-Defense and Threat of Retaliation
In a significant assertion of its rights under international law, the Islamic Republic formally notified the world body that it reserves its “inherent and legal right to self-defense” as outlined in Article 51 of the UN Charter.
The letter contained a stark warning regarding Iran’s response. Araghchi stated that the Iranian Armed Forces will utilize “all necessary defensive capabilities and measures to counter this criminal aggression and deter hostile actions.” He further declared that, as a result of the strikes, “all bases, facilities, and assets of hostile forces in the region are considered legitimate military targets.” Tehran emphasized it would exercise this right “decisively until the aggression is completely and unequivocally halted.”
Demand for UN Accountability
Tehran is placing the onus for any further escalation squarely on Washington and Jerusalem. The Foreign Minister stressed that the “full and direct responsibility for all consequences resulting from these unlawful actions, including any escalation of tensions, lies with the Israeli and U.S. aggressors.”
Citing the “serious and widespread implications” of the attacks for regional and international peace, Iran is urging the Security Council to fulfill its primary mandate.
Araghchi called for the urgent convening of a Security Council emergency session to address what Iran calls a “real and serious threat to international peace and security.” Tehran is demanding that the council take “necessary and immediate measures to halt the illegal use of force and hold the aggressors accountable.”
In a final appeal to the international community, the Iranian Foreign Minister urged all UN member states “committed to upholding international peace and security to strongly condemn this act of aggression.” He described the strikes as an “unprecedented threat to regional and global peace and security” and called for immediate collective action to confront them.
Iran has requested that the letter be officially published as a document of the UN Security Council.
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