UN chief condemns U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran during emergency Security Council meeting

UN chief António Guterres condemned U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran, calling for immediate negotiations to prevent regional escalation.

The United Nations chief condemned the U..S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on Saturday (February 28, 2026) and called for an immediate return to negotiations “to pull the region, and our world, back from the brink.” Secretary-General António Guterres told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that everything must be done to prevent further escalation. “The alternative,” he warned, “is a potential wider conflict with grave consequences for civilians and regional stability.”

Mr. Guterres said the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes violated international law, including the UN Charter. He also condemned Iran's retaliatory attacks for violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, insisted the U.S. military action was lawful.

“Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon," he told the council. “That principle is not a matter of politics. It's a matter of global security. And to that end, the United States is taking lawful actions.” Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon defended the airstrikes as necessary to stop an existential threat.

“We are stopping extremism before it becomes unstoppable,” he said. “We will ensure that no radical regime armed with nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles can threaten our people or the entire world.” Amir Saeid Iravani, Iranian ambassador to the U.N., told the council that the airstrikes have killed and injured hundreds of Iranian civilians, which he called a ‘war crime’ and a crime against humanity.

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