logo
Iran tells UN strikes on Israel are self-defense

Iran tells UN strikes on Israel are self-defense

Reuters5 days ago

UNITED NATIONS, June 16 (Reuters) - Iran's strikes on Israel are self-defense and are "proportionate defensive operations directed exclusively at military objectives and associated infrastructure," Iran's U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani told the U.N. Nations Security Council on Monday.
He wrote in a letter that any cooperation by third countries with Israel's strikes on Iran "makes them complicit in the legal responsibility and consequences of this crisis."
Under Article 51 of the founding United Nations Charter, the 15-member Security Council must immediately be informed of any action that states take in self-defense against armed attack.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

The Latest: 2nd week of Israel-Iran war starts with renewed strikes
The Latest: 2nd week of Israel-Iran war starts with renewed strikes

The Independent

time28 minutes ago

  • The Independent

The Latest: 2nd week of Israel-Iran war starts with renewed strikes

The second week of the Israel- Iran war started with a renewed round of strikes despite talks between European ministers and Iran's top diplomat. Friday's talks, which aimed at de-escalating the fighting between the two adversaries, lasted for four hours in Geneva, but failed to produce a breakthrough. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump continued to weigh his country's military involvement and concerns spiked over potential strikes on nuclear reactors. Still, European officials expressed hope for future negotiations. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he was open to further dialogue but stressed Tehran wasn't interested in negotiating with the U.S. while Israel continued attacking. Here is the latest: UN refugee agency calls for de-escalation The UNHCR said Saturday that the intensity of the attacks is already triggering population movements in Israel and Iran: Some from Tehran and other parts of Iran have crossed into neighboring countries while shelling has caused people in Israel to seek shelter elsewhere in the country and, in some cases, abroad. The agency urged states in the region to respect the right of people to seek safety where needed and to facilitate humanitarian access. 'This region has already endured more than its share of war, loss, and displacement — we cannot allow another refugee crisis to take root,' the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said. 'The time to de-escalate is right now. Once people are forced to flee, there's no quick way back — and all too often, the consequences last for generations.' Tehran vows to make Grossi 'pay' A senior adviser for Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, vowed in a social media post Saturday to make the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency 'pay' once the war with Israel is over. Ali Larijani's threat comes as IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi has become a major target for many Iranian officials who say his conflicting statements about the status of Iran's nuclear program incited the Israeli surprise attack last week. Grossi told the United Nations' Security Council Friday that while Iran has the material to build a nuclear bomb, it appears they have no plans to do so.

Israel-Iran war stretches into a second week without diplomatic breakthrough
Israel-Iran war stretches into a second week without diplomatic breakthrough

BreakingNews.ie

time32 minutes ago

  • BreakingNews.ie

Israel-Iran war stretches into a second week without diplomatic breakthrough

Hours of talks aimed at de-escalating fighting between Israel and Iran failed to produce a diplomatic breakthrough as the war entered its second week with a fresh round of strikes between the two adversaries. European ministers and Iran's top diplomat met for four hours on Friday in Geneva, as President Donald Trump continued to weigh US military involvement and worries rose over potential strikes on nuclear reactors. Advertisement European officials expressed hope for future negotiations, and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said he was open to further dialogue while emphasising that Tehran had no interest in negotiating with the US while Israel continued attacking. 'Iran is ready to consider diplomacy if aggression ceases and the aggressor is held accountable for its committed crimes,' he told reporters. Benjamin Netanyahu visits the site of the Weizmann Institute of Science, which was hit by missiles fired from Iran (Jack Guez/Pool Photo via AP) No date was set for the next round of talks. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's military operation in Iran would continue 'for as long as it takes' to eliminate what he called the existential threat of Iran's nuclear programme and arsenal of ballistic missiles. Advertisement Israel's top general echoed the warning, saying the Israeli military was ready 'for a prolonged campaign'. But Mr Netanyahu's goal could be out of reach without US help. Iran's underground Fordo uranium enrichment facility is considered to be out of reach to all but America's 'bunker-buster' bombs. Mr Trump said he would put off deciding whether to join Israel's air campaign against Iran for up to two weeks. The war between Israel and Iran erupted on June 13, with Israeli airstrikes targeting nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists. Advertisement At least 657 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2,000 wounded, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group. Iran has retaliated by firing 450 missiles and 1,000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates. Most have been shot down by Israel's multi-tiered air defences, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds wounded. Israel's defence minister said on Saturday it killed a commander in Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard who financed and armed Hamas in preparation for the October 7 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the 20-month long war in Gaza. Israel said Saeed Izadi was commander of the Palestine Corps for the Iranian Quds Force, an elite arm of the Guard that conducts military and intelligence operations outside Iran, and that he was killed in an apartment in the city of Qom. Advertisement

Four-star general reveals Iran's Ayatollah isn't cutting peace deal as Trump's countdown begins
Four-star general reveals Iran's Ayatollah isn't cutting peace deal as Trump's countdown begins

Daily Mail​

time38 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Four-star general reveals Iran's Ayatollah isn't cutting peace deal as Trump's countdown begins

Iran isn't cutting a U.S.-brokered peace deal with Israel because its leaders are confident they can rebuild its nuclear program even if it's wiped out, a retired general says. General Jack Keane, the former Vice Chief of Staff to the U.S. Army, told Fox News that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei believes the country will be able to restart its nuclear bomb with relative ease after the ongoing conflict with Israel ends. The U.S. has not joined the conflict so far. President Trump says he'll decide whether to do so in the next two weeks, after urging Iran to halt its nuclear bomb building. 'The nuclear enterprise is vast, and it is resilient,' Keane told Fox News. '(There are) multiple sites, centrifuges, so you can spin up enriched uranium. They did that to survive.' Keane said the Ayatollah has 'never made a deal' because 'he has built an enterprise to survive an attack' that he believes is strong enough to withstand airstrikes even if President Trump decides to join the conflict. 'He believes they can absorb an attack, survive it, recover from it, and then rebuild. That is where this guy is,' he said. 'I don't see him, in the near term, making a deal here whatsoever.' Keane, a four-star general, was likely referring to Iran's nuclear bomb factory, which is called Fordow and which sits deep under a mountain. The United States' most powerful 'bunker buster' bomb has been touted as a possible match for the Fordow facility, if President Trump decides to join the conflict at the end of a two week deadline he's just announced. Other experts believe a tactical nuclear weapon would be needed. Using a nuclear bomb in an act of war is a huge taboo unbroken since the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. "I don't see him in the near term making a deal": @gen_jackkeane on the Ayatollah's approach — FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) June 20, 2025 The general said for Trump to succeed, he needs to 'take the whole enterprise down' and wipe out the nation's top leadership and military capabilities, after Israel significantly weakened Iran in recent weeks. 'Look, Israel have destroyed all 70 of their air defense batteries, all of them. Air force, gone. The 12 nuclear sites, damages or destroyed. Then, leadership (is) decapitated, military and nuclear scientists. They can replace nuclear scientists, but in the near term, major problem.' Iran has long vowed to obliterate Israel at the first chance it gets, with Israeli intelligence beginning their bombing campaign earlier this month over fears leaders in Tehran were just months off completing a nuclear weapon. World leaders and many military strategists have urged Trump to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis, fearing that any direct US intervention could spiral into all-out war. Trump has warned that if Iran don't agree to stop their nuclear weapons program within two weeks, he will commit US forces to join Israel in the conflict. Iran's allies include Russia and China, meaning the stakes for the current conflict could not be higher. Trump has instated a two-week deadline to make a decision, primarily whether to use a 30,000lb 'bunker buster' bomb to penetrate Iran's underground enrichment plant in Fordow. But Keane, who was heavily involved in the Iraq War, said he 'absolutely' believes Trump should use the bunker buster, saying 'the alternative is unacceptable.' He admitted that using the weapon could face challenges as we've never actually done' it before, but insisted 'that doesn't mean you don't do it.' Keane's urging of Trump to use the 'bunker buster' bomb comes as experts say the weapon is one of the only tools in the US military arsenal that could take out the Fordow enrichment site. The 30,000lb bomb is the largest non-nuclear bomb at America's disposal, and can smash through several hundred feet of earth, with the Fordow site said to be located up to 300ft underground. The GBU-57A/B 'bunker buster' bomb, as it is known, is arguably the top military reason that Israel wants the United States to join its air campaign against arch-foe Iran. The US designed and built the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) and remains the only nation to possess the bomb, as well as being the only country with warplanes capable of dropping its formidable payload. Crucially, it is also the only weapon widely believed to be capable of smashing through Iran's deeply buried nuclear facility at Fordow.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store