According to the Persian edition of ISNA, the text of Amir Saeed Iravani’s speech, Iran’s representative at the Security Council, is as follows:
Madam President,
I thank you for your invaluable efforts as President of the Security Council in promptly convening this emergency meeting. We welcome the presence of the Secretary-General at this session. We have heard the statement delivered by the Assistant Secretary-General (for Europe), Mr. Miroslav Jenča. We express our gratitude to all countries that have stood on the right side of history and unequivocally condemned the aggressive actions of the United States of America and the Zionist regime against my country.
Madam President,
For the third time since the onset of brutal aggressions against my country—first by the Israeli regime on June 13 and now by the United States—I address this Council. With utmost urgency and profound concern, I speak on behalf of my people, a peace-loving nation of nearly one hundred million.
Madam President,
Today, another stain of shame was added to the political history of the United States of America. After the illegitimate Israeli regime failed in carrying out the “dirty work” of the West, Donald Trump was compelled, in the early hours of Sunday, June 22, 2025, to personally and directly execute the most disgraceful part of this vile plot. Benjamin Netanyahu, an internationally wanted war criminal, once again succeeded in holding U.S. foreign policy hostage, dragging America into another baseless and costly war. The U.S., with utter recklessness, sacrificed its own security for Netanyahu’s survival. The world once again witnessed blatant corruption in the U.S. political system and its leadership.
The Islamic Republic of Iran, as an independent and peace-loving nation, had repeatedly warned the warmongering U.S. regime to avoid falling into this quagmire. Now, too, Iran, in accordance with international law, fully reserves its legitimate right to self-defense against this blatant U.S. aggression and its proxy, the Israeli regime. The timing, nature, and scope of Iran’s reciprocal and proportionate response will be determined by our armed forces.
The resilient and united Iranian nation, throughout its history, has endured deeper wounds and faced more ferocious enemies; this time, too, it will demonstrate its dignity, strength, and grandeur to the world.
Over the past ten days since the Israeli regime’s savage assault, all necessary information and warnings have been provided to international bodies, including the UN Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Yet, these institutions have once again proven that what is touted as an eighty-year effort to prevent war and aggression is, in practice, hollow and ineffective.
The Islamic Republic of Iran condemns and denounces this unprovoked and premeditated aggression in the strongest terms—an attack that followed the Israeli regime’s extensive military assaults against my country and people.
Madam President, Dear Colleagues,
History will never forget these sorrowful days. It is deeply regrettable that a peace-loving nation, a founding member of the United Nations, with over five thousand years of culture and civilization, a responsible adherent to the UN Charter and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and a non-nuclear state, has been targeted by armed attacks from an illegitimate regime and now by its main backer, the United States of America—both possessing thousands of nuclear warheads.
The United States, a permanent member of this Council, a guardian of the NPT, and the only country to have used nuclear weapons, killing millions in two cities during World War II, has once again resorted to unlawful force. Under the fabricated and ludicrous pretext of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, it has waged war against my country. What a bitter and tragic irony.
Madam President,
The aggressions of the United States and the Israeli regime are a blatant and flagrant violation of international law. These actions breach the peremptory norm prohibiting aggression and the fundamental principles of the UN Charter, particularly Article 2(4), which explicitly prohibits any threat or use of force against the sovereignty or territorial integrity of any UN member state. This unlawful act also violates the Charter, the Statute of the IAEA, relevant resolutions of the IAEA General Conference, Security Council Resolutions 487 (1981) and 2231 (2015), and the NPT itself.
Colleagues,
While the U.S. representative continues to repeat baseless accusations against the Islamic Republic of Iran, the international community is well aware of the dark and documented record of this country in military interventions, unlawful use of force against other sovereign nations, and support for terrorism in the Middle East and beyond.
The facts speak for themselves: all U.S. allegations against Iran are baseless, lack any legal merit, and are entirely politically motivated. A stark example is the heinous and cowardly assassination of Martyr Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, Commander of the IRGC Quds Force, along with his companions. He was targeted in a deliberate and calculated terrorist act while traveling officially to Iraq at the invitation of its government. This crime was perpetrated by U.S. forces under the direct orders of the then-U.S. President, who yesterday publicly accepted responsibility for this atrocious act. General Soleimani remains an unparalleled hero for the Iranian nation and the region’s peoples in the fight against terrorist groups, particularly ISIS.
Madam President,
From the unlawful invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan to the catastrophic intervention in Libya, the United States has repeatedly disregarded the UN Charter, destroyed entire societies, and destabilized the region for decades. The people of these countries continue to bear the cost of the U.S.’s reckless policies.
Madam President,
The Israeli regime’s attack on June 13 and the U.S. airstrikes on June 21 did not occur in a vacuum but are the direct result of unlawful and politically motivated actions by the United States and its European partners—Britain, France, and Germany—along with the biased conduct of the IAEA Director General. Undoubtedly, the United States, Britain, and France, three permanent members of this Council, alongside the Israeli regime and the IAEA Director General, bear full responsibility for the blood of innocent Iranians, particularly women and children, and the destruction of critical civilian infrastructure.
Madam President,
Iran was preparing for the next round of diplomatic engagements with the United States on June 15, but the Israeli regime chose to attack Iran two days prior, effectively destroying diplomacy. The so-called diplomatic proposal was nothing but a deceptive ploy to mislead the international community. This week, as Iran’s Foreign Minister held talks with the European Troika and the EU, the United States decided to obliterate diplomacy. What conclusion can be drawn from this? From the perspective of Western countries, Iran must “return to the negotiating table,” but as our Foreign Minister emphasized, “How can Iran return to something it never abandoned?”
Madam President,
The pattern is clear. The NPT, a cornerstone of the non-proliferation regime, has been politicized. This treaty, meant to guarantee the legitimate rights of member states to peacefully use nuclear energy, has become a pretext for aggression and unlawful actions that endanger my country’s supreme interests.
The selective and double-standard behavior of the IAEA Board of Governors and the Security Council, which turned a blind eye to Israel’s past attack on Iraq’s Osirak reactor, its assaults on Iran’s IAEA-safeguarded nuclear sites, and its ongoing aggressions, is a moral, political, and legal disgrace. This stain will forever tarnish the credibility of these international institutions. With such blatant bias, there is no guarantee that other NPT members will not face similar aggressions in the future.
Madam President,
For over two decades, Israel, a rogue regime armed with nuclear weapons that has refused to join the NPT despite Security Council Resolution 487, has propagated a false and deceptive narrative claiming Iran is on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons. Despite the absence of a single credible document to substantiate these baseless claims, the Islamic Republic of Iran has pursued diplomacy with sincerity and good faith, proving the entirely peaceful nature of its nuclear program through the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and full compliance with Security Council Resolution 2231.
Madam President,
Iran will act within its inherent and legal right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter. We will take all necessary and appropriate measures to protect our people, national sovereignty, territorial integrity, vital national interests, and peaceful nuclear program, in accordance with international law.
I wish to reiterate the legal and moral responsibilities of the Security Council. If this Council and the United Nations, established to maintain international peace and security, fail to act at this critical juncture, they will lose their credibility and relevance forever.
The Zionist regime and the United States are the primary culprits in undermining the rule of law, international law, the IAEA Statute, and the non-proliferation regime. However, the silence, double standards, and complicity of some international organizations and Western countries, including France and Britain, are equally reprehensible.
The UN Security Council must act immediately under Chapter VII of the UN Charter to address this injustice and flagrant violations through the following measures:
• Strongly condemn the blatant aggressions, violations, and heinous crimes committed against the Islamic Republic of Iran;
• Adopt effective enforcement measures against the aggressors and hold the United States and the Zionist regime fully accountable;
• Place the Zionist regime’s nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards.
This moment is a historic test for this Council and the entire United Nations. Every state and responsible actor must answer this call and unequivocally condemn these blatant crimes. Otherwise, we will witness the gradual erosion of the non-proliferation ideal, and a dangerous precedent will be set—one where might replaces right, and the fundamental principles of the UN Charter are trampled without consequence.
Madam President, Dear Colleagues,
We stand at a historic crossroads. Let this moment mark the end of impunity; a moment to uphold the principles upon which this Council was founded.
The Council must act decisively. Silence will equate to complicity in these crimes. If this Council refrains from acting and condemning this blatant aggression, the stain of complicity, as seen in Gaza, will forever remain on its conscience.
