Envoy calls on UNSC to stop reversing roles of ‘aggressor and victim’
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations slammed Western members of the Security Council for their “hypocrisy and double standards,” demanding that the United States immediately end its war of aggression and lift its illegal naval blockade if it is genuinely committed to diplomacy.
Addressing a Security Council meeting on Friday regarding rising tensions in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, Gholamhossein Darzi stressed that the root causes of the current situation are the unprovoked wars launched by the US and Israel on June 13, 2025, and February 28, 2026, Press TV reported.
“The US is the aggressor, not the victim,” Darzi declared, condemning the assassination of Iran’s Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, senior officials, and nuclear scientists. He emphasized that the Council must direct its demands at the aggressor, not the victim, and called on the US to cease all illegal threats and comply fully with the UN Charter.
Detailing the devastating civilian toll of the US-Israeli bombing campaigns, the Iranian envoy noted that over 5,000 innocent Iranians have been killed, including 254 children and 251 women.
He specifically highlighted egregious war crimes committed by US forces, including a Tomahawk missile strike on a school in Minab that killed 168 children, and an attack on a stadium in Lamerd that killed at least 21 civilians.
The ambassador emphasized that the insecurity surrounding the Strait of Hormuz is a direct consequence of these American crimes. “The US cannot bomb Iran, violate its sovereignty, target civilian infrastructure, impose a military and naval blockade, and deploy illegal coercive schemes like ‘Operation Economic Outcast’ and ‘Task Force Iron Gate’ to collectively punish 90 million people, and then expect the Strait of Hormuz to return to normal as if nothing happened,” he stated. While affirming that Iran has never closed the door to diplomacy and has entered negotiations in good faith over the past two years, Darzi noted that Washington has consistently chosen aggression over dialogue, creating deep mistrust.
“If Washington is truly committed to a diplomatic solution, it must immediately and unconditionally end its aggression, provide credible guarantees of non-repetition, respect Iran’s sovereign rights, lift the naval blockade and all other unlawful unilateral coercive measures, and demonstrate its real commitment to diplomacy in practice,” he said.
Issuing a warning to the Council, Darzi added: “Let me be explicit and clear: Any renewal of the aggressive war by the US and the Israeli regime will be met with an immediate, decisive, and unwavering response; a response that will target the source of the aggression, wherever it may be.”
Furthermore, he sharply criticized remarks by the representatives of Bahrain and the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), accusing certain regional states of complicity in war crimes.
By providing their territory, airspace, and military bases to the US and Israel, these states have facilitated the aggression and bear international responsibility, he argued, adding that they are legally obligated to fully compensate Iran for all material and moral damages inflicted upon the country.