Iran has warned the international community that its population faces a “grave” threat from ongoing strikes by the United States and Israel, vowing it would not bow to what it called “lawless aggression.”
Speaking at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, Iran’s ambassador Ali Bahreini said the most urgent human rights concern for the country was the safety of its 90 million citizens amid the ongoing war.
“The most urgent and fundamental human rights issue concerning Iran is the imminent threat to the lives of 90 million people whose lives are in immediate and grave danger under the shadow of reckless military aggression,” Bahreini told the council.
He accused Washington and Tel Aviv of conducting attacks that he described as “lawless” and warned that failing to confront such actions could set a dangerous precedent internationally.
“If such reckless militarism is met with indifference, Iran will most certainly not be the last country to suffer such treatment,” he said.
War dominates UN debate
The conflict began on February 28 when the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes against Iran, triggering a regional escalation in which Tehran has fired missiles at targets across the Gulf.
During Monday’s council session — originally convened to discuss Iran’s human rights record following a crackdown on anti-government protests — Bahreini urged delegates to instead focus on the war and its consequences for Iranian civilians.
He accused the United States and Israel of targeting civilian infrastructure and cultural heritage sites, and alleged that children were killed in a missile strike on a school in the southern city of Minab.
Washington said it was investigating the reported incident, while journalists have been unable to independently verify the claims due to a lack of access to the site.
Bahreini told the council that more than 1,300 people had been killed and over 7,000 wounded in Iran since the strikes began.
“Under such circumstances, what exactly is Iran expected to do?” he asked. “Iran is not a nation that submits to coercion, intimidation or lawless aggression.”
Meanwhile, the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council — along with Jordan — condemned Iranian missile attacks on their territories, saying they endangered civilians and regional stability.
They said Tehran’s strikes “cannot be justified under any pretext.”
The council session formed part of an interactive dialogue involving member states, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, and an independent fact-finding mission investigating alleged abuses in the country.
