Iran, at UN, insists will not submit to ‘lawless aggression’

Iran warns of grave threats to its citizens from U.S. and Israeli strikes, asserting its refusal to submit to aggression.

Iran vowed at the United Nations on Monday (March 16, 2026) that it would not submit to "lawless aggression", and said its citizens were in "grave danger" from U.S. and Israeli strikes.

At the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, where countries were discussing the rights situation in Iran -- notably following its deadly crackdown on protesters in recent months -- Tehran said the focus instead should be on the war in West Asia.

"The most urgent and fundamental human rights issue concerning Iran is the imminent threat to the lives of 90 million people whose lives are in immediate and grave danger under the shadow of reckless military aggression," said Ali Bahreini, Iran's ambassador to the UN in Geneva.

He called it "an aggression that is carried out by some of the most lawless and unscrupulous actors on the international stage".

Mr. Bahreini said that if such "reckless militarism" was met with indifference, "Iran will most certainly not be the last country to suffer such treatment".

On February 28, the U.S. and Israel launched their war on Iran, that has seen the Islamic republic retaliate against multiple countries in the West Asia.