The United Nations Security Council convened for an “emergency” meeting on Sunday in which several members condemned Iran for launching over 300 drones and missiles at Israel the day before.
The members of the Council did not agree on any meaningful action in response to the unprecedented assault, which Israel almost entirely blocked with advanced missile defense systems. Israel’s representative condemned Iran as the “number-one global sponsor of terror” and demanded the Council act to restrain Tehran’s ability to “arm, fund, and train terror proxies across the globe.” Iran, meanwhile, argued that it “had no choice” but to bomb Israel and insisted it does “not seek escalation or war.”
American Ambassador Robert Wood asserted that Washington “will explore additional measures to hold Iran accountable,” but offered no specifics on how.
The administration of leftist President Joe Biden let sanctions on Iran’s missile and drone programs at the Security Council expire on October 18, less than two weeks after the devastating October 7 siege of Israel by Iranian proxy Hamas.
Iran’s envoy to the UN Saeid Iravani attends United Nations Security Council meeting following Iran’s recent attack on Israel, at UN headquarters in New York City, United States on April 14, 2024. (Fatih Aktas/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The meeting on Sunday was meant to address an attack directly by the Iranian military on Israel which took place on Saturday, after days of Tehran threatening a devastating assault on its neighbor. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed it had identified over “300 threats of various types” launched from Iran and it had stopped 99 percent of them.
“Of approximately 170 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that Iran launched, zero crossed into Israeli territory. … From the more than 30 cruise missiles Iran launched, none crossed into Israeli territory,” IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said on Saturday.
Iran claimed the attack was necessary to respond to the strike on its consulate in Damascus, widely believed to have been the work of the IDF. The strike eliminated seven IDF officials, among them Quds Force commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi, one of the top military leaders tasked with planning foreign terrorism operations. On Sunday, an Iranian regime-affiliated group, the Coalition Council of Islamic Revolution Forces, claimed that Zahedi had a “strategic role in … planning and executing” the October 7 massacre, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people and widespread gang rape, torture, and abductions.
While most members, including the United States, condemned the attack, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres used the opportunity to demand that the Israeli government show “restraint” in response to the massive attempted strike on its homeland.
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Guterres also condemned Israel for a strike on an Iranian diplomatic outpost in Syria on April 1 that killed several senior members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization and part of the Iranian military. Israel has yet to formally take responsibility for that strike.
“The people of the region are confronting a real danger of a devastating full-scale conflict. Now is the time to defuse and de-escalate. Now is the time for maximum restraint,” Guterres declared.
“I remind all Member States that the Charter of the United Nations prohibits the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations,” the U.N. chief added.
“It’s time to step back from the brink. It is vital to avoid any action that could lead to major military confrontations on multiple fronts in the Middle East. Civilians are already bearing the brunt and paying the highest price,” Guterres asserted.
In his remarks at a meeting meant to address Iran’s missile and drone assault, Guterres took a moment to state, in an apparent scolding of Israel, “the principle of inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises and personnel must be respected in all cases in accordance with international law, as I stated when condemning the 1 April attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.”
He concluded with a call for “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza,” the stronghold of Hamas, in which Israel launched a self-defense operation in October.
Israeli Ambassador to UN Gilad Erdan attends United Nations Security Council meeting following Iran’s recent attack on Israel, at UN headquarters in New York City, United States on April 14, 2024. (Fatih Aktas/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The Biden administration representative, Ambassador Wood, demanded that Iran’s attack not “go unanswered,” but did not offer any immediate response to the attack. Rather, Wood said that “in the coming days” the U.S. government would consider options for responding.
“The United States condemns in the strongest of terms the unprecedented attack on the State of Israel by the Islamic Republic of Iran and its militant proxies and partners,” Wood said. “Iran’s reckless actions not only posed a threat to populations in Israel, but also to other UN Member States in the region, including Jordan and Iraq.”
“In the coming days, and in consultation with other Member States, the United States will explore additional measures to hold Iran accountable here at the United Nations,” Wood concluded. “The United States also supports Israel’s exercise of its inherent right to defend itself in the face of this attack, and as President Biden stated, we will remain in close contact with Israel’s leaders.”
Iranian U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani responded to the condemnations by claiming his country “had no choice” but to attack Israel because the Security Council had “failed in its duty to maintain international peace and security” by being insufficiently anti-Israel.
“It is time for the Security Council to shoulder its responsibility and address the real threat to international peace and security,” he claimed, demanding “urgent and punitive measures to compel this regime [Israel] to stop a genocide against the people of Gaza.”
Jihadist entities have consistently described the IDF’s operations against Hamas as a “genocide” while failing to condemn Hamas, an explicitly genocidal organization, for its slaughter of Jewish people in Israel.
