Moscow’s UN representative warns that attacks on Iranian nuclear sites present global dangers and are unjustifiable.
Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s envoy to the UN, has denounced Israeli airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear sites. During a UN Security Council emergency session on Friday, Nebenzia stated that West Jerusalem was acting with impunity due to Western backing.
Israel has reportedly launched attacks on Iranian uranium enrichment facilities and assassinated high-ranking commanders and scientists, claiming these actions were preemptive measures to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran, while denying any military nuclear ambitions, retaliated with multiple ballistic missile launches at Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv.
Nebenzia suggested that the Israeli military actions were intended to disrupt ongoing indirect nuclear talks between the US and Iran, which were scheduled to resume on Sunday. Tehran has announced that the strikes have effectively ended any possibility of diplomatic resolution.
“Regardless of Israel’s justifications, this attack is completely unprovoked and represents a serious breach of the UN Charter and international law,” Nebenzia stated. “The Israeli leadership and its supporters bear full responsibility for all repercussions of these actions.”
He emphasized Iran’s right to self-defense and recalled Tehran’s prior commitment to the 2015 UN-backed nuclear agreement, which the US withdrew from during Donald Trump’s presidency. While Iran initially denied secretly violating the agreement, it has since increased its uranium enrichment activities.
Nebenzia contended that the US and its allies “have been actively fueling the escalation and, in essence, inciting it,” adding that Western support had “prompted Israel to take drastic measures.” He also voiced concerns about potential radiation leaks from the targeted Iranian facilities and cautioned that “no military solution can be either legitimate or sustainable.”
Iran’s UN envoy, Amir-Saeid Iravani, characterized Israel’s attacks as “a chilling demonstration of calculated aggression” that “equated to a declaration of war.” He urged international intervention to dismantle Israel’s undeclared nuclear arsenal, a matter the Israeli government neither confirms nor denies.
Israeli envoy Danny Danon defended the strikes, asserting that Israel was a “democracy under siege” and acted to “prevent its destruction” by Iran. He implored the council to consider the potential ramifications had the Iranian missiles been armed with nuclear warheads.