The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting following Israel's airstrikes on Iran last night.
Speaking at the UNSC meeting and later addressing the press, Iravani said, "Israel, the loudest and most violence-prone regime in the world, carried out these barbaric attacks with full intelligence, operational, and political support from the U.S. government."
"This was not an act of self-defense. It was a planned and unlawful act of aggression," Iravani said, adding that the Israeli airstrikes had killed 78 Iranians and injured more than 320 people, most of them women and children.
Recalling that Israel targeted secure nuclear facilities, Iravani warned this was a reckless criminal act that "could lead to a radiological disaster beyond Iran's borders."
Iran's UN envoy stressed that Israel's attack was not only against Iran, but also an assault on the international legal order, the UN Charter, and on "every nation that believes in the rule of law rather than the rule of force."
Calling on the Security Council to condemn Israel's aggression, Iravani stated: "Israel's aggression is tantamount to a declaration of war. Let me be clear: Iran will exercise its right to self-defense. Our response will be lawful, proportionate, resolute — and it will come at a time of our choosing."
