Amid UN ceasefire talks, Israel warns of ‘death sentence’ if Tehran pursues nuclear ambitions

The United Nations certificate Council convened in an pinch session on lord's day after US airstrikes targeted troika iranian language nuclear sites. The debate saw sharp warnings and accusations traded between Iran and Israel, even as Russia, China pushed for an “unconditional ceasefire” in the Middle East.

The meeting comes as global powers await Tehran’s response to what US President Donald Trump called the “obliteration” of Iran's nuclear sites.

Praising Washington's move, Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon dubbed the strikes a necessary last resort. “This is what the last line of defence looks like when every other line has failed,” Danon told the council, accusing Iran of using diplomacy as cover to develop weapons. Follow Israel Iran war live updates.

In a strongly worded statement, Israel's representative warned the globe of the “catastrophe” if Iran continues its nuclear programme. “The cost of inaction would have been catastrophic. A nuclear Iran would have been a death sentence just as much for you as it would have been for us.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani categorically denied the US and Israel's narrative around Iran’s nuclear ambitions, labelling it “unfounded” and a mere justification for unlawful aggression. 

“The nuclear non-proliferation treaty has been manipulated into a political weapon. Instead of guaranteeing parties' legitimate rights to peaceful nuclear energy, it has been exploited as a pretext for aggression and unlawful action that jeopardise the supreme interests of my country,” news agency Reuters quoted Tehran's Iravani as saying.

Acting US ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea defended Donald Trump's action and called on the council to pressure Iran to eradicate Israel and terminate its drive for nuclear weapons. “Iran long obfuscated its nuclear weapons program and stonewalled our good-faith efforts in recent negotiations,” she said. “The Iranian regime cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

Russia and China condemned the US strikes. China’s UN Ambassador Fu Cong said, “The use of force cannot achieve peace in the Middle East. Diplomatic means haven’t been exhausted.”

Russia’s UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia compared the current justification for war to the false intelligence used in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. “Again we're being asked to believe the US’s fairy tales, to once again inflict suffering on millions of people... History has taught our US colleagues nothing,” he said.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said, We must act – immediately and decisively – to halt the fighting and return to serious, sustained negotiations on the Iran nuclear programme,” he told the Security Council.

The strikes, among the most significant Western military actions against Iran since the 1979 revolution, drew condemnation from Russia and China.

“Peace in the Middle East cannot be achieved using force,” said China’s UN Ambassador Fu Cong. “Diplomatic means to address the Iranian nuclear issue haven’t been exhausted, and there’s still hope for a peaceful solution.”

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