Israel 'grave threat' to regional peace, Iran says amid US presidential transition

Statement follows op-ed in Wall Street Journal by Israel's UN ambassador which argued that Iran could 'try to sow chaos before Trump takes office'

Israeli soldiers patrol the Israel-Gaza border. AFP

Iran’s mission to the UN said on Friday that Israel poses a “grave and immediate threat” to regional and global peace, calling for urgent measures to prevent what it described as a potential “catastrophic” escalation during the US presidential transition.

“As the current rulers of the regime perceive their survival in the expansion of war and directly dragging the United States into it, they are attempting to exploit the current political climate in the United States to pave the way for the formulation of a new crisis,” the mission said in a statement shared on X.

It added that this would have “unprecedented political and strategic costs” for Washington.

Calling Israel an “illegitimate and usurping entity”, Iran claimed the nation is facing “widespread hatred” within the region and the broader international community.

It also suggested that removing or restraining Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could pave the way for de-escalation, including a ceasefire in Gaza as well as continued UN peacekeeping operations and the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 in Lebanon, and restored maritime security in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Tension has been high between Israel and Iran over the course of the Gaza war, with the situation occasionally deteriorating into direct attacks. Israel struck several sites in Iran in later October, weeks after Tehran launched a barrage of 200 ballistic missiles at its archrival.

The statement follows an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal by Israel's UN envoy Danny Danon this week, in which he argued that Tehran could “try to sow chaos before [US president-elect Donald] Trump takes office”.

He urged the international community to enact a series of measures against Iran, including strict enforcement of current sanctions, reinstatement of UN sanctions in place before the 2015 nuclear deal, and the seizure of commercial vessels involved in the illicit transport of sanctioned Iranian oil.

The tense exchange comes as Mr Trump prepares to take the White House in January. Elon Musk, the tech billionaire closely allied with Mr Trump, met Iran's ambassador to the UN on Monday in a bid to defuse tension between Tehran and Washington, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

Iran's ambassador reportedly urged Mr Musk to seek US sanctions exemptions and conduct business in Tehran, the newspaper said, citing an Iranian Foreign Ministry official. The two met for more than an hour at a secret location, the newspaper said.

During his first term as president, Mr Trump dismantled the nuclear deal brokered by his predecessor Barack Obama and Iran, opting instead for a “maximum pressure” sanctions strategy.