Attacks on nuclear sites pose global risks and cannot be justified, according to Russia’s ambassador to the UN
Russia’s envoy to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, has condemned Israel’s recent airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Speaking at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Friday, the diplomat said West Jerusalem was acting with impunity, backed by the West.
Israel launched the strikes on uranium enrichment sites in Iran on Friday and killed several senior commanders and scientists in targeted assassination operations, claiming the moves were preemptive steps to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Iran, which denies pursuing a military nuclear program, responded by launching multiple volleys of ballistic missiles at Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv.
Nebenzia said Israel had apparently intended to sabotage the indirect US-Iran nuclear talks which had been scheduled to resume Sunday. Tehran has declared that the strikes have effectively ended any diplomatic pathway.
“This is a completely unprovoked attack – whatever Israel may claim to the contrary – and it constitutes a gross violation of the UN Charter and international law,” Nebenzia said. “Responsibility for all the consequences of these actions rests entirely with the Israeli leadership and those who condone them.”
He noted that Iran has the right to defend itself and pointed to Tehran’s previous commitment to the 2015 UN-backed nuclear deal, which the US abandoned during President Donald Trump’s first term. The Islamic Republic denied accusations of secretly violating the agreement at the time but has since ramped up uranium enrichment.
The US and its allies “have been doing everything possible to fuel the escalation, and, essentially, they incited it,” Nebenzia argued, adding that Western support had “spurred Israel to take radical steps.” He also raised alarms over the risk of radiation leaks from the targeted Iranian facilities and warned that “no military solution can be either legitimate or viable.”
Iran’s UN envoy, Amir-Saeid Iravani, described Israel’s attacks as “a chilling display of calculated aggression” that “amounted to a declaration of war.” He called for international action to disarm the Jewish state’s undeclared nuclear arsenal, which West Jerusalem has neither confirmed nor denied.
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US officials react to Israel’s attack on Iran
Israeli envoy Danny Danon defended the airstrikes, saying his country was a “democracy under siege” which had acted to “prevent its destruction” by the Islamic Republic. He urged the council to reflect on the potential consequences had the Iranian missiles been equipped with nuclear warheads.
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