What happened at emergency UN Security Council on Iran protests
The UN Security Council has held an emergency meeting in the wake of deadly protests in Iran and US threats to bomb the country. Iran’s deputy ambassador accused the US of trying to cover up its involvement in instigating unrest.
UN Security Council holds emergency meeting on deadly protests in Iran
Iranian and US officials traded barbs at UN Security Council meeting on deadly protests in Iran and amid threats of attack by Washington.
The United Nations Security Council has held an emergency meeting to discuss deadly protests in Iran amid threats by United States President Donald Trump to intervene militarily in the country.
Members of the influential 15-member UN body heard from Iran’s deputy UN representative, who warned at the meeting on Thursday that Iranians did not seek a confrontation but would respond to US aggression, and accused Washington of “direct involvement in steering unrest in Iran”.
US representative Mike Waltz used his prepared remarks at the meeting to criticise the Iranian government’s response to the protests, noting that the ongoing internet blackout in Iran made it hard to verify the true extent of the crackdown by authorities there.
“The people of Iran are demanding their freedom like never before in the Islamic Republic’s brutal history,” Waltz said, adding that Iran’s claims that the protests were “a foreign plot to give a precursor to military action” were a sign that its government was “afraid of their own people”.
Waltz did not refer to the threats of military intervention in Iran that Trump has repeatedly made over the past week, before the president appeared to ease his escalating rhetoric over the past day.
Iran’s deputy UN envoy Gholamhossein Darzi told the council that his country “seeks neither escalation nor confrontation”.
“However, any act of aggression, direct or indirect, 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. Responsibility for all consequences will rest solely with those who initiate such unlawful acts,” he said.
Briefing on Protests in Iran
https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/whatsinblue/2026/01/briefing-on-protests-in-iran.php
This afternoon (15 January), the Security Council will convene for an open briefing on the recent protests in Iran. The meeting, which will be held under the agenda item “The situation in the Middle East”, was requested by the US. Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA-DPO) Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee and two representatives of civil society are expected to brief. Iran will participate in the meeting under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure.
The nationwide protests, which analysts have described as the most serious challenge to the Iranian government since the 1979 revolution that brought it to power, began on 28 December 2025 after the value of the Iranian rial collapsed to a record low. The protests started in Tehran and initially focused on economic issues, including inflation, widespread unemployment, and low wages, before turning into violent anti-government demonstrations and spreading throughout the country.
After initial attempts by the government to address the protesters’ economic concerns failed to quell the demonstrations, Iranian security forces appear to have ramped up their already violent crackdown on the protests. Although Iranian authorities imposed a nationwide telecommunications blackout on 8 January, there have been media reports referring to witness accounts of government forces firing on crowds indiscriminately, victims arriving at hospitals with close-range gunshot wounds, and the use of tear gas to disperse protesters. The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), a press association founded by Iranian human rights activists, has reported that at least 2,615 people have been killed during the protests, while also noting that the full extent of the violence and repression may have been concealed by the communications blackout.
US President Donald Trump has threatened military intervention in response to the crackdown. In a 2 January social media post, Trump warned that if Iran “violently kills peaceful protesters” the US “will come to their rescue”, saying “we are locked and loaded and ready to go”. On 13 January, Trump called on Iranians to continue protesting and said that “help is on its way”. In a 13 January letter to the Security Council (S/2026/29), Iran described this statement as a “flagrant violation of the fundamental principles of international law enshrined in the [UN Charter], in particular the prohibition of the threat or use of force under Article 2(4) and the principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of states under Article 2(7)”. The letter also urged the Council to condemn all forms of incitement to violence, threats to use force, and interference in Iran’s internal affairs by the US.
According to media reports, the Pentagon has presented Trump with a range of possible targets for a military strike, including facilities used in Iran’s nuclear programme and ballistic missile sites. Yesterday (14 January), several media outlets reported that the UK and the US had reduced the number of personnel stationed at the Al-Udeid airbase in Qatar, while Iran closed its airspace for several hours on the same day, moves that had previously preceded military action in the region.
At the same time, both Iran and the US have signalled willingness to pursue dialogue. In remarks reported on 12 January, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that “diplomacy is always the first option for the president”, while noting that airstrikes are one of the “many, many options that are on the table”. On the same day, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters that Iran was “also ready for negotiations”, provided that they are “fair, with equal rights and mutual respect”, while noting that communication channels between him and US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff remained open.
The US has also sought to increase its economic pressure on Iran in recent days. On 12 January, Trump announced that any country “doing business” with Iran will pay a 25 percent tariff on any trade with the US, “effective immediately”. Today (15 January), the US imposed sanctions on five Iranian officials who it accused of being involved with the crackdown on the protests.
On 11 January, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Stéphane Dujarric issued a statement expressing shock regarding reports of violence and excessive use of force against protesters in Iran. The statement urged Iranian authorities to exercise maximum restraint, refrain from unnecessary or disproportionate use of force, and take steps that enable access to information in the country, including restoring communications. In a 13 January statement, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged Iranian authorities to halt all forms of violence and repression against peaceful protesters and to restore full access to internet and telecommunications services. Türk also highlighted Iranians’ right to demonstrate peacefully and called for accountability for serious violations. Pobee may echo these messages at today’s meeting.
On 9 January, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz issued a statement regarding the protests. The statement expressed deep concern about reports of violence, strongly condemned the killing of protesters, and said that “Iranian authorities have the responsibility to protect their own population and must allow for the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear of reprisal”. The statement also urged the Iranian government to exercise restraint, refrain from violence, and uphold the fundamental rights of its citizens. Like-minded Council members are likely to convey similar messages in their statements this afternoon.
During a 13 January press conference, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova condemned “subversive external interference in Iran’s internal political processes” and said that “the threats emanating from Washington regarding further military strikes against [Iran] are categorically unacceptable”. On 15 January, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke with Araghchi. According to media reports, Wang told Araghchi that China opposes imposing its will on other countries and a return to the “law of the jungle”, while noting that China believes that Iran will overcome its difficulties, maintain stability, and safeguard its legitimate rights and interests. China and Russia may reinforce some of these points during this afternoon’s meeting.
Gulf countries gear up diplomacy to stave off US-Iran escalation
Gulf nations don’t want the chaos that a US attack on Iran or the collapse of the Islamic Republic would generate.
Arab Gulf nations have been watching nervously as neighbouring Iran has been engulfed in nationwide protests. United States President Donald Trump has threatened military action against Tehran – a move many Gulf powers fear would plunge the region into chaos.
Behind the scenes, Saudi Arabia has reportedly been lobbying the US administration to refrain from striking Iran, while Qatar and Oman have been focused on diplomatic outreach between Iranian and American officials. The three countries shifted into high-gear diplomacy to de-escalate tensions after reports on Wednesday suggested that contact between Washington and Tehran had broken down, raising fears that an attack was imminent, observers said.
“They were all concerned because all traditional channels [between the US and Iran] were not being utilised, at least from the US side,” said Anna Jacobs Khalaf, a Gulf analyst and non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute.
“GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] officials didn’t know what the US intentions were,” said Muhanad Seloom, assistant professor in critical security studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.
Iran updates: Trump holds off on strikes after assurances
01/15/2026
https://www.dw.com/en/iran-updates-trump-holds-off-on-strikes-after-assurances/live-75511404
US President Donald Trump says Iran has halted killings and executions, citing assurances he received. Tehran denies plans for hangings as tensions remain high and airspace closures disrupt flights
UN calls for end to executions in Iran
The United Nations has called on Iran to stop any planned executions of protesters and to investigate all deaths independently and transparently.
"We call on Iran to halt any executions linked to protest-related cases," Martha Pobee, UN assistant secretary general at the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, said during a UN Security Council meeting. "All deaths should be promptly, independently, and transparently investigated. Those responsible for any violations must be held to account in line with international norms and standards."
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on all parties to exercise the utmost restraint, Pobee added.
Iran accuses US of 'steering unrest,' Washington says all options on table
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) held an emergency meeting on Thursday to address protests in Iran and a crackdown that has resulted in thousands of deaths, according to the group Iran Human Rights.
At the meeting, Iran's Deputy UN Ambassador Gholam Hossein Darzi accused the US of "direct involvement in steering unrest in Iran to violence."
He claimed Washington, with its actions, was "laying the groundwork for political destabilization and military intervention" in the Middle Eastern nation.
The diplomat stressed that Tehran does not seek escalation or confrontation, but would deliver a "decisive, proportionate and lawful response" should there be "any act of aggression — direct or indirect."
Meanwhile, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told the UNSC meeting that Washington stands by the "brave people of Iran."
He also reiterated President Donald Trump's stance that "all options are on the table."
"President Trump is a man of action, not endless talk like we see at the United Nations. He has made it clear all options are on the table to stop the slaughter," Waltz said.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in support of protesters in Iran, where thousands of people have been reported killed in recent days in a deadly clampdown on the anti-regime protests.
But on Thursday, the US leader adopted a wait-and-see posture, saying he had been told that Iran would stop killing protesters and not carry out executions.
White WWhite House threatens 'grave consequences' if Iran kills more protesters
President Trump has repeatedly threatened military strikes on Iran amid a crackdown on protestersImage: Evelyn Hockstein/REUTERSWhite House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters President Donald Trump was informed that 800 executions of Iranian protesters that had been supposed to take place yesterday "were halted."
Iran's Justice Ministry early on Wednesday had said that trials and executions of protesters would be expedited, only to walk back the statement later in the day.
Trump said Wednesday he had been assured from "very important sources on the other side" that executions would not go ahead, and appeared, for now, to step back from threats of military action against the Iranian regime.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing US officials, that Trump had been advised a military strike against Iran would likely not lead to regime collapse, and would risk sparking a "wider conflict."
Press Secretary Leavitt said Thursday that the US was continuing to monitor the situation in Iran, with the latest reports indicating the protests have begun to slow down.
"The president and his team have communicated to the Iranian regime that if the killing continues, there will be grave consequences," she said.
The Oslo-based NGO Iran Human Rights estimates more than 3,400 protesters have been killed, making the crackdown on protesters by far the deadliest in the history of the Islamic Republic.
Manufacturing an Enemy: The US–Israeli Campaign Against Iran and the Reality They Hide
The Islamic Republic of Iran has long been accustomed to challenges, relentless pressure, and widely believed misrepresentations about it.
As the current crises mount, so does the quandary among members of its political classes. They all want change. The hardliners want a return to the past; the reformers want a future unburdened by the past, and many moderates want change in any form. The status quo has little or no support. The change that is inevitable will mark a monumental moment, one that could profoundly alter Iran’s trajectory.
Free of external meddling, the outcome will depend on internal dynamics and the balance of power among competing forces. Iran, however, has never been free of foreign meddling. In recent years, it has come primarily from the United States and its Israeli proxy. That Iran has survived nearly five decades of unending hostility is a testament to the character of the nation and its people.
The 1979 Islamic Revolution shifted Iran from a major U.S. ally to a primary adversary. It also led to a realignment of regional partnerships and fundamentally dismantled the security architecture the United States had constructed in West Asia.
The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, based on the principles of justice and independence, would forever conflict with the foreign policies of the American empire and Israeli Zionism, which are cemented in land theft, domination, and expansion. Iran’s political reinvention from monarchy to Republic brought the unremitting wrath of the United States government upon it.
Before the Revolution, Washington relied on Iran and Saudi Arabia—the “twin pillars”—to contain Soviet influence and to maintain regional dominance. The overthrow of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi deprived the United States of its “regional policeman,” and a key military base it used to monitor the former Soviet Union.
Iran’s transition led Washington to expand America’s military footprint in the Persian Gulf. Today, the US maintains a military presence in nearly every country in the region, positioned there to protect the uninterrupted flow of oil, to shield Israel and Arab dictators, and to threaten those who would oppose its hegemony.
In the midst of a historic transition away from a centuries-old monarchical system, Iran was invaded and ultimately survived a brutal eight-year war with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, a war supported by the US and its regional allies.
Inheriting a nation wrecked and regionally isolated by war, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, successor to the founder of the Republic, Ruhollah Khomeini (1902-1989), faced the daunting task of resurrecting Iran’s fractured economy and society. Khamenei had to manage internal dissent and rivalries within Iran’s complex clerical circles, confront unyielding international economic pressures, all while preserving the revolutionary ideals of sovereignty and independence.
Iran’s unbroken 7,000-year-old recorded historical and political presence in the world has inevitably created friends and foes, none more powerful than today. The combined force of American imperialists, Israeli Zionists, and Arab rivals is positioned to leverage political and economic turmoil in Iran for gain.
Since the 1979 Revolution, Washington and Tel Aviv have sown mischief and discord within Iran. Public anger over an economy that has been strangled by 47 years of crippling US-imposed economic sanctions has fueled unrest.
Various domestic, regional, and international actors have benefited from the tumult, keeping Iran weak, economically stunted, and unable to project power regionally. Absent foreign interference, it could resolve internal grievances and foster better relations with neighboring states.
Few countries have faced as much sustained criticism and negative portrayals in the West, most notably in the United States, as Iran. Israel has been the driving force and main beneficiary of casting the country as a regional and global villain.
It is way past time for the truth. The Iranian nation and its people have suffered too long under the weight of Israel’s lies and American economic sanctions. By examining the overlooked accounts of strategic cooperation between the US and Iran, it becomes evident just who could have been and who would be a better regional partner.
After decades of US efforts to destabilize Iran, President Barack Obama, upon entering office in 2009, concluded just that. In March of that year, on the occasion of the Iranian New Year, Nu-Rooz, he addressed the leaders and people of Iran, saying:
“My administration is now committed to diplomacy, … and to pursuing constructive ties among the United States, Iran, and the international community. We seek instead engagement that is honest and grounded in mutual respect.”
With the signing of the 2015 nuclear agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the United States and Iran seemed intent on moving forward. The agreement inspired hope, especially in Iran, for a better future.
As expected, the beneficiary of the old order, Israel, alarmed by the policy shift, unleashed its disinformation network to dismantle Obama’s diplomatic success and to restore, as well as intensify, the “regime change” policies of old.
If not for the sustained pressure from Israeli leaders and intense lobbying efforts from powerful pro-Israel groups, it is conceivable that a normalized relationship could have emerged during the Obama administration.
The current US-Israeli campaign to create chaos to achieve its aim of bringing down the Iranian government will have horrific, destabilizing consequences. Now more than ever, it is essential to challenge the incessant propaganda that portrays Iran as an enemy nation.
It should be noted that despite the vitriolic rhetoric against it, Iran has come to the aid of the United States on several occasions:
- Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991
- Afghanistan after 9-11
- Iraq, following the US invasion of 2003
- in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State (also known as Da’esh)
During the Persian Gulf War, the Iranian government refused Saddam Hussein’s requests for assistance, adhered to international sanctions, allowed the US Air Force to use its airspace, and neutralized Iraq’s air force by impounding aircraft Saddam had flown to Iran in hopes of preserving his remaining fleet.
It is worth noting that then-Secretary of State James Baker recognized Iran for its help in preventing sectarian conflict at the end of the war. And in his presentation before the House Foreign Affairs Committee (6 February 1991), in which he outlined his postwar goals; Baker stated that Iran could play a role in future security arrangements in the Persian Gulf.
A stable Afghanistan has always been important to Iran. The United States and Iran, in 2001, found common foes in al-Qaeda and the Taliban. In the 1990s, as Washington ignored the growing presence of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, Iran was the major supporter of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance. Tehran cooperated with America to defeat the Taliban, served as a conduit between the US and the Northern Alliance, provided crucial intelligence, and pledged to rescue American pilots downed on its soil.
At a December 2001 meeting in Bonn, Germany, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell credited Tehran with helping establish a peaceful interim Afghan government, following the American invasion. It was former foreign minister, Javad Zarif (at the time, Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs), who mediated a compromise over the composition of Afghanistan’s post-Taliban government, ultimately leading to the adoption of the Bonn Agreement. And it was Iran that insisted that the accord include a commitment that the country hold democratic elections.
Rather than recognizing its diplomatic overtures, President George W. Bush, in his 2002 State of the Union address, branded Iran among the “axis of evil” countries.
Iran’s leaders were aware that Washington had the country in its sights when it invaded Iraq in March 2003. Although it opposed the invasion and could have caused havoc, Tehran chose to reestablish a back channel to the Americans through Geneva and begin the process of normalizing relations with the United States.
Included in its May 2003 proposal, which came to be known as the Iranian “grand bargain,” its leaders offered to aid Washington in the political stabilization of Iraq and help in establishing a democratic secular government.
President Bush chose to ignore the comprehensive initiative and instead continued to pursue the shortsighted policy of regime change. Bush and the pro-Israel war hawks in his administration were blind to the cooperative and consequential role Iran could have played in restoring war-ravaged Iraq. Since then, Iraq has continued to suffer.
Despite American affronts, Tehran was willing to work with Washington to check the expansion of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria, especially as it gained strength after the US troop withdrawal from Iraq in 2011 and with the Syrian rebellion that same year.
When Da’esh dangerously came close to capturing Baghdad in 2014, Iran, through its support of Iraqi Shia militias (Popular Mobilization Forces), helped prevent IS forces from toppling the government. And in Syria, in addition to economic assistance, significant numbers of Iranian armed forces, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, fought alongside allied militias, with Iranian deaths numbering more than 2,000.
On the subject of the 2015 nuclear agreement, it is important to note that when Iran entered the JCPOA it did so on the assumption that the United States would honor its obligations. It did not.
In return for economic sanctions relief, the Iranian government agreed to what international bodies and experts considered exceptionally stringent measures. Ironically, restrictions were imposed on Iran’s civilian nuclear program, since it has never had—in contrast to Israel—a nuclear weapons arsenal.
Iran was in full compliance with the terms of the agreement, and it was working as intended when President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the JCPOA in 2018 and reimposed “maximum pressure” sanctions.
As we have seen, Iranian officials have entered into negotiations and agreements based on a framework of “mutual respect,” and most often their American counterparts have not.
The most recent instance of U.S. “legerdemain negotiating” occurred while Iran’s representatives were in Rome conducting the fifth round of nuclear talks, when, on June 13, 2025, the US joined Israel in launching a surprise military attack on Iranian military and civilian targets, as well as on three UN safeguarded peaceful nuclear facilities.
Tehran fully understood after the 12-day June war, in which over 1,100 Iranians were killed, that negotiations with the United States were a mere chimera.
Since then, the pressure campaign and propaganda against Iran have increased. Its leaders now believe that the country is in a full-fledged war with the United States, Israel, and some European countries and that Washington seems willing to set West Asia ablaze to save Zionism.
What Western intruders seem unable to understand is that Iran has a millennia-old residence in West Asia, that there is no mythology or illusion around it, and the ancient nation cannot be bullied. Archeology, history, and Scriptures bear witness to its sustained and important geopolitical presence.
Iran’s global influence is expressed through its rich political culture, which includes language, literature, and arts, large energy reserves, strategic location, and its leadership role in the region.
The US-Israel collaboration has turned West Asia into a dysfunctional menagerie. Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Morocco conduct business and collude—some in the shadows and others openly—with Israel, while the Zionists slaughter and starve their fellow Arabs in Palestine.
Washington, accustomed to dealing with oil-rich ruling families and autocrats, is incapable of understanding a country that sees justice for the Palestinians intertwined with its own interests.
Ayatollah Khomeini declared, in 1979, that Iran’s revolution would be incomplete until the Palestinians had won their freedom. His statement established their cause as a central ideological component of the Islamic Republic’s identity and anti-imperialist foreign policy.
Iran will continue to demand justice for the people of Palestine, an end to genocidal Zionism, and an independent sovereign West Asia. Is this the “threat,” is this what Washington and Tel Aviv want the world to fear?
USA - Iran: war on the horizon
side. It suffered terrible strikes from the Israeli Air Force during the 12-day war in June 2025. The latter gained complete dominance over Iranian airspace, while Iran was unable to shoot down a single Israeli fighter jet. The Islamic Republic did not inflict any confirmed military losses on Israel during retaliatory missile strikes, while the Israeli side eliminated 20 to 30 high-ranking Iranian military personnel and destroyed several nuclear and defense facilities of the IRI, including with the help of its ally, the United States.
As reported by BAKU.WS, this is stated in the latest issue of the Caliber.Az YouTube channel.
"This time, the United States may come down on Iran with even greater force (during the 12-day war, the Americans delivered only a few strikes at the very end), as they openly promise support for the Iranian uprising, which means destroying decision-making centers, as well as headquarters and bases of the "Basij" - the main force suppressing protests. Trump called on the population of this country to seize government institutions, claiming that "help is near." If after such words he does not strike the "Basij" bases and control centers, his authority in the world and in the United States itself may be undermined, and the uprising in Iran will most likely be crushed.
Trump has another reason for the strike - he has long demanded Tehran's abandonment of uranium enrichment. However, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei does not agree with this demand.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly: after the successful operation to kidnap Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Trump definitely felt more confident and is ready to rush into battle, and the position of Washington hardliner, hawk Marco Rubio, has clearly strengthened," the material notes.
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Yukarıdaki haberleri derleyen değerli meslektaşım Hüseyin Avni Botsalı'ya teşekkürler.
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