United Nations –

Iran launched an unprecedented military attack on Israel on Sunday, demanding action from the United Nations Security Council to punish and deter Iran, which Tehran said was in retaliation for an alleged Israeli attack on its embassy in Syria earlier this month.

“Today, the Security Council must take action,” Israel’s envoy to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, told the Security Council. “Condemn Iran’s terrorist acts; trigger the snapback mechanism and reimpose tough sanctions; designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization. Action must be taken now — not for Israel, not for the region, but for the world.”

Israel called for an emergency meeting after Iran launched a direct attack on its territory, which it said included 170 armed drones, 120 ballistic missiles and 30 cruise missiles. Israel said its air defenses, along with those of the United States and other allies, shot down 99 percent of the planes.

Erdan criticized the committee for not heeding Israel’s warnings against Iran over the years. He said the international community had remained silent on the rise of the “Shiite Islamic empire” but with Iran’s direct attack on Israel, the regime was now exposed.

“As Iran’s mask falls, the world’s complacency must also fall,” the Israeli envoy said. “The mask is off, the gloves must be on.”

He said Iran had “crossed every red line” and Israel retained the legal right to retaliate.

Iran’s envoy said they had no choice but to exercise their right to self-defence after the April 1 attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus and the Security Council’s failure to formally condemn the incident.

Some Security Council diplomats said the United States, France and Britain blocked condemnation because they had questions about whether Iranian sites were being used for covert operations.

“This lawless regime has committed many atrocious crimes against our people,” Iranian Ambassador Amir Saeed Irani said of Israel. “This regime blatantly and openly acknowledges its responsibility for the terrorist and destructive actions it has committed in recent years against Iranian officials, scientists and civilians and for the destruction of our peaceful nuclear infrastructure.”

Israel is said to have carried out numerous attacks, assassinations and cyber attacks on Iran in recent years, most of which targeted its nuclear programme. Israel has never publicly confirmed such actions.

Iravani said Iran “does not seek escalation or war in the region” but will defend itself if necessary.

He also emphasized that Iran does not want a conflict with the United States.

“We have demonstrated our commitment to peace by exercising restraint in response to U.S. Army interceptions of Iranian drones and missiles heading toward military targets in the occupied Palestinian territories,” he said. “This underscores our commitment to de-escalating tensions and avoiding the escalation of conflict. determination.”

But he added that Iran would “react accordingly” if the U.S. military launched any action against Iran, its citizens or security interests.

U.S. envoy Robert Wood said Washington was not seeking to escalate the conflict with Tehran but issued a warning.

“Let me be clear – if Iran or its proxies take action against the United States or take further action against Israel, Iran will be held accountable,” he said.

Wood said the United States would begin consultations with other countries to “explore additional measures to hold Iran accountable at the United Nations.” He did not elaborate on what that might include. He also urged the Security Council to “unequivocally condemn” Iran’s actions and called on its partners and proxies to cease attacks.

Iran-backed groups including Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis have fired rockets and missiles at Israel, and the Houthis have also carried out attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz.

The United Nations Secretary-General addressed an emergency meeting and called for a de-escalation of tensions.

“It is time to step back from the cliff,” Antonio Guterres said, adding that neither the Middle East nor the world could afford more wars.

Most Security Council members condemned the escalation and echoed the UN secretary-general’s calls for de-escalation and diplomacy, while expressing concern about the risk of wider regional unrest.