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Gulf states on Saturday condemned what they described as Iran’s “cowardly” attacks carried out in response to US and Israeli strikes, warning Tehran would bear full responsibility for any escalation.
“We hold the government of Iran fully responsible for these attacks, and we reject any justifications or explanations to justify this hostile behaviour or to manipulate rules of international law,” said Bahrain's UN ambassador Jamal Fares Alrowaiei, speaking on behalf of the six Gulf Co-operation Council members, as well as Syria and Jordan.
Strikes have injured people in several countries, killed at least two civilians, damaged infrastructure and disrupted air navigation across the region.
The actions also threatened maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil chokepoint, he added.
Bahrain, the Arab representative on the 15-member body, joined France, Russia, China and Colombia in requesting the emergency Security Council meeting.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged council members to do everything possible to prevent the crisis from spiralling further.
“The alternative,” he warned, “is a potential wider conflict with grave consequences for civilians and regional stability.”
Iran’s UN envoy, meanwhile, said the US and Israeli air strikes on Iranian territory had killed and wounded hundreds of civilians, condemning the attacks as a “war crime”.
Amir Saeid Iravani told the council that the attacks deliberately targeted densely populated areas in several major cities.
Mr Iravani said a residential building had been struck and alleged that a school in the southern province of Hormozgan was hit, killing more than 100 children.
“This is not only an act of aggression,” Mr Iravani said. “It is a war crime.”
Mr Iravani did not address or verify US President Donald Trump’s claim, made shortly before the meeting, that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had died.
Russia’s UN envoy Vasily Nebenzya said that US President Donald Trump’s claim that attacks on Iran were aimed at preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon was “unfounded".
“Tehran has consistently stated that it does not have any such plans and that it is fulfilling its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,” Mr Nebenzya told the council.
He said that “despite Tehran’s willingness to engage in the diplomatic process, it once again is stabbed in the back”, adding that Washington’s long-term military build-up in the region suggested the aggression “was planned in advance".
Mr Nebenzya warned that nuclear energy facilities “cannot, under any circumstances, be the target of strikes by armed forces,” citing risks to civilian populations and regional stability.
He specifically referred to Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, warning that any attack on such sites would violate international law and could trigger catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences.
At Russia’s request, the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the joint US-Israeli strikes, the agency said in a statement.
US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said Washington’s actions were grounded in international security concerns, accusing Tehran of defying longstanding global demands.
“The international community has long affirmed a simple and necessary principle: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Mr Waltz said, pointing to past UN resolutions he said Tehran had ignored.
“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,” he added.
Referring to Iran’s recent crackdowns on protesters, Mr Waltz said Tehran’s participation in the emergency meeting in New York “makes a mockery of this body”.
“This representative sits here, in this body, representing a regime that has killed tens of thousands of its own people, and imprisoned many more, simply for wanting freedom from your entire tyranny," he said.
Mr Iravani accused Mr Waltz of “cynically” attempting to mislead the Security Council, saying history offered “ample documentation” that US foreign policy has repeatedly relied on unlawful force, covert intervention and political manipulation to alter the governance of other member states.
