Iran warns of response to any aggression

Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Iran to the UN Gholamhossein Darzi has issued a stern warning that any military or political aggression against Tehran will be met with a full and decisive response, while condemning international sanctions as a violation of international law.

Speaking at the UN Security Council, Darzi criticised the United States for convening a meeting on Iran’s internal situation, calling it shameful and an example of political hypocrisy.

Darzi accused Western human rights organisations of advancing an Israeli agenda and claimed that years of sanctions have directly harmed ordinary Iranian civilians rather than the government.

The Iranian envoy alleged that protesters in Iran had faced “ISIS-style attacks” and that Iranian security forces had sacrificed their lives protecting citizens. He accused Washington of inciting demonstrators to rebellion, calling it interference in Iran’s sovereignty.

Any form of aggression against Iran would be a clear violation of international law and the UN Charter, the Iranian envoy told the council, adding that no justification can be presented for any military operation against Iran.

He described the situation as a critical test not only for Iran but for the UN’s credibility and that of the international system as a whole.

While emphasising that Tehran respects the rights of peaceful protesters, Darzi warned that “any external aggression or conspiracy will be met with a forceful response.

The United States stands by the “brave people of Iran,” and President Donald Trump “has made it clear all options are on the table to stop the slaughter,” US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told the UN Security Council.

President Trump is a man of action, not endless talk like we see at the United Nations. He has made it clear all options are on the table to stop the slaughter,” Waltz told the Security Council meeting, which Washington had requested.

Meanwhile, Iran’s deadly crackdown appears to have broadly quelled protests for now, according to a rights group and residents, as state media reported more arrests on Friday in the shadow of repeated US threats to intervene if the killing continues.

Fears of a US attack have retreated since Wednesday, when President Donald Trump said he’d been told killings in Iran were easing.

US allies, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, conducted intense diplomacy with Washington this week to prevent a US strike, warning of repercussions for the wider region that would ultimately impact the United States, a Gulf official said.

The White House said on Thursday that Trump and his team have warned Tehran there would be “grave consequences” if there is further bloodshed.

The protests erupted on December 28 over soaring inflation in Iran, whose economy has been crippled by sanctions, before spiralling into one of the biggest challenges yet to the clerical establishment that has run Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Axios reported that the director of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, David Barnea, arrived in the US on Friday for talks on the situation in Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The news outlet also cited US sources as saying the US military is sending additional defensive and offensive capabilities to the region to be ready in case Trump orders a strike.

The US military’s Central Command didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
With information flows from Iran obstructed by an internet blackout, several residents of Tehran said the capital had been quiet since Sunday. They said drones were flying over the city, where they’d seen no sign of protests on Thursday or Friday.

Iranian-Kurdish rights group Hengaw said that there had been no protest gatherings since Sunday, but “the security environment remains highly restrictive”.

“Our independent sources confirm a heavy military and security presence in cities and towns where protests previously took place, as well as in several locations that did not experience major demonstrations,” Norway-based Hengaw said in comments to Reuters.

Another resident in a northern city on the Caspian Sea said the streets also appeared calm.
The state-affiliated Tasnim news outlet reported that rioters set fire to a local education office in Falavarjan County, in central Isfahan Province, on Thursday.

The state-owned Press TV cited Iran’s police chief as saying calm had been restored across the country.

A death toll reported by US-based rights group HRANA has increased little since Wednesday, currently at 2,677 people, including 2,478 protesters and 163 people identified as affiliated with the government.

Reuters has not been able to independently verify the HRANA death toll. An Iranian official told the news agency earlier this week that about 2,000 people had been killed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation in Iran in separate calls on Friday with Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and said that Moscow was willing to mediate in the region, the Kremlin said.

Pezeshkian told Putin that the United States and Israel had played a direct role in the unrest, Iranian state media reported.

HRANA has reported that more than 19,000 people have been arrested, but the state-affiliated Tasnim news outlet said 3,000 people had been detained.

A senior UN official warned on Thursday that threats of military action against Iran, like those made by US President Donald Trump, increased “volatility” in the protest-torn country.

“We note with alarm various public statements suggesting possible military strikes on Iran. This external dimension adds volatility to an already combustible situation,” UN Assistant Secretary-General Martha Pobee told the UN Security Council.