UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Iran. Situation in Iran: emergency meeting of the UN Security Council Human rights
On Thursday, an emergency meeting of the Security Council on the situation in Iran opened in New York. It was convened at the initiative of the United States in connection with information coming from Iran about the forceful dispersal of mass protests that began in that country in December.
Right to peaceful protest
All Iranians should be able to express their grievances peacefully and without fear. Assistant Secretary-General Martha Poby said this while speaking at a meeting of the UN Security Council.
She recalled that the UN chief had previously expressed deep concern about reports of excessive use of force against protesters in Iran. The UN emphasizes the need to respect the right of the country’s residents to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.
According to the latest data, hundreds and possibly thousands of people have been killed in Iran, where mass protests continue unabated. The UN has no way to confirm these data, Poby noted. All deaths must be investigated and those responsible brought to justice, she stressed.
Human rights activists report numerous arrests in the country. It is estimated that by mid-January 2026 the number of detainees exceeded 18 thousand.
“We call on the authorities to respect the right to due process and a fair trial for all detainees. Everyone needs to be treated humanely,” Poby said. She called on the Iranian leadership not to use the death penalty in connection with the protests.
“Public statements about military strikes on Iran”
According to Poby, the UN notes with concern “various public statements suggesting possible military strikes on Iran.”
“This external factor adds instability to an already volatile situation,” she said and called for maximum restraint.
“The Secretary-General remains convinced that all concerns regarding Iran, including concerns related to the nuclear issue and ongoing protests, are best addressed through diplomacy and dialogue,” added Poby.
The UN reminds us to refrain from any actions that could lead to further loss of life or provoke wider regional escalation.
Iranian journalist and dissident: “Iran is plunged into darkness”
“Now to bring to justice those who orders for massacres in Iran, real and concrete action is needed,” Alinejad said.
“The voices of millions of innocent, unarmed Iranians have been drowned out by bullets, mass arrests, incarceration and a complete communications blackout – no internet, no cell phones, no landlines. Iran is plunged into complete darkness,” Alinejad added.
“I am here to bring their voices to this room,” she emphasized. “I am here to inform you that in my beloved homeland, Iran, brutal massacres are taking place.”
Arrest for participating in a protest
In turn, Iranian-American journalist and human rights activist Ahmad Batebi told members of the UN Security Council about how Iranian authorities arrested him for participating in a protest during his student years. According to the speaker, while in custody he was tortured and forced to “confess” on camera that he was allegedly a paid American spy.
“The situation is exactly the same in Iran now,” he emphasized. “Many innocent people are taking to the streets demanding their rights, while the Iranian regime films them and claims that they are agents of the Mossad.” courage.
“The level of violence and the level of repression that the Iranian regime has unleashed on its citizens and its own people has implications for international peace and security,” he said.
Waltz said, “despite attempts to justify themselves, the regime alone is responsible for the economic suffering of the Iranian people” and “will be held accountable.”
Beyond gross violations human rights and the “illegal” development of the nuclear weapons program, the US representative recalled the bombing of his country’s embassy in Beirut, and also said that Iran’s partners and proxies “destabilized the Middle East” by financing Hezbollah and the Houthis and supporting the “brutal Assad regime.” “the regime’s neglect of its citizens” put the ayatollahs in their current situation.
Russia: “The US is stoking hysteria around Iran”
Since late December, the whole world has watched as the United States continues to escalate tensions and stoke hysteria around Iran by declaring that “help is on the way,” said Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya. According to him, “in its official statements, Washington did not even try to camouflage the true reasons for the so-called “concern” about the internal political situation in the country, threatening new strikes on Iran.”
“Today’s meeting, convened by our American colleagues, is nothing more than another attempt to justify naked aggression and interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state, and if the Iranian authorities, according to Washington, do not “come to their senses” – then solve the Iranian problem in their favorite way: by striking with the aim of overthrowing the “undesirable regime”,” he added Not benzya.
China “steadfastly” stands for compliance with the principles of the UN Charter
Chinese diplomat Sun Lei said that the United States is openly threatening to use force against Iran. He stressed that China has always advocated compliance with the principles of the UN Charter and international law, and that the sovereign equality of states and non-interference in internal affairs are the “fundamental norms” of international relations. According to him, the use of force never leads to a solution to problems, and military adventures can push the region towards disaster.
Sun Lei added that “obsession with force” and “arbitrary interference” only breed conflict and hatred. “No action that violates international law can be acceptable,” the diplomat said. Thousands of people may have been killed and many more arrested in what he said was the worst crackdown on public protests in decades.
“Despite the regime’s near-total internet shutdown, videos coming out of Iran suggest that these reports may even underestimate the true scale of the horror now unfolding there,” he said, adding that “the regime will claim that these protests were instigated by foreign-backed forces, but lies and propaganda cannot justify it.” action.”
“Let me make it clear again and again: we condemn the actions of the regime in the strongest possible terms,” he stressed. “We pay tribute to the courage of the Iranian people, especially Iranian women. Once again, they boldly declare their desire to live in freedom and dignity, despite repression and violence.”
France is ready to introduce additional measures against Iran
“The international community and the Security Council cannot turn a blind eye in the face of the scale and brutality of the repression,” said French Permanent Representative Jerome Bonnafon. The diplomat noted that his government, together with its partners, is ready to introduce additional restrictive measures against individuals and organizations involved in suppressing protests in Iran.
He also called for the early convening of a special session of the UN Human Rights Council to discuss the situation in Iran and put in place appropriate mechanisms to investigate human rights violations. The special attention of this Council to this situation, according to Bonnafon, is all the more justified since it poses a very alarming risk of escalation.
Iran: USA is a “false friend”
Iran’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Gholamhossein Darzi, said that he speaks on behalf of “a nation in mourning.” He said it was extremely unfortunate that the US representative who initiated the meeting was resorting to “lies, misrepresentations and deliberate disinformation” to hide his country’s direct involvement in what Darzi said was turning unrest in Iran into violence. The Iranian diplomat added that the US requested the meeting to “conceal direct involvement in the crimes committed by its mercenaries against our people.”
According to Darzi, the US is trying to present itself as friends of the Iranian people, while simultaneously creating the conditions for political destabilization and possible military intervention under the pretext of humanitarian considerations. He called such statements particularly cynical given what he called the United States’ “long and well-documented” history of illegal military interventions, regime change operations, and systematic violations of international law and the UN Charter.