Iran accused the United States of being complicit in Israel’s attacks on the Islamic Republic — a charge Washington denied at the United Nations Security Council, telling Tehran it would “be wise” to engage in talks over its nuclear programme.
Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Israel late on Friday after Israel attacked Iran earlier in the day. Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon said Iran had been “preparing for war” and Israel’s strikes were “an act of national preservation”.
Iran’s Warning
His Iranian counterpart, Amir Saeid Iravani, accused Israel of seeking “to kill diplomacy, to sabotage negotiations, and to drag the region into wider conflict,” and he said Washington’s complicity was “beyond doubt”.
“Those who support this regime, with the United States at the forefront, must understand that they are complicit,” Iravani told the Security Council. “By aiding and enabling these crimes, they share full responsibility for the consequences.”
US President Donald Trump said Friday that he had given Tehran a 60-day ultimatum, which expired on Thursday, to make a deal over its escalating uranium enrichment program. A sixth round of US-Iran talks had been scheduled to take place in Oman on Sunday, but it was unclear whether it would go ahead.
‘Waited For Diplomacy To Work’
Danon said Israel had been patient despite mounting risks.
“We waited for diplomacy to work … We watched negotiations stretch on, as Iran made false concessions or refused the most fundamental conditions,” Danon told the Security Council. He said intelligence had confirmed Iran could have produced enough fissile material for multiple bombs within days.
Senior US official McCoy Pitt said the United States will continue to seek a diplomatic resolution that ensures Iran will never acquire a nuclear weapon or pose a threat to stability in the Middle East.
“Iran’s leadership would be wise to negotiate at this time,” Pitt told the council. While Washington was informed of Israel’s initial strikes ahead of time it was not militarily involved, he said.
Iran’s Enrichment Plant Destroyed
UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council the above-ground pilot enrichment plant at Iran’s Natanz nuclear site had been destroyed, and that Iran has reported that nuclear sites at Fordow and Isfahan were also attacked.
“At present, the Iranian authorities are informing us of attacks on two other facilities, namely the Fordow fuel enrichment plant and at Isfahan,” the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Grossi told the 15-member council.
“At this moment we do not have enough information beyond indicating that military activity has been taken place around these facilities as well,” he added.
(With inputs from Reuters)
