New York, Karafarinane Eghtesad – Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the U.N. Amir Sa’eed Iravani says Tehran will firmly defend its security and territorial integrity, holding the United States complicit in Israel’s “blatant acts of aggression.”

Speaking to reporters at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Monday evening, Iravani said that 1,481 civilians have been killed or injured in Iran since Israel launched its unprovoked assaults on the country.

He said the attacks are ongoing and criminal, describing them as a grave violation of the U.N. Charter and fundamental principles of international law.

“The most concerning aspect of this attack is that the Israeli regime deliberately targeted a peaceful nuclear facility operating under full I.A.E.A. safeguards,” he said, warning of the serious risk of radioactive leakage.

He added that had Iran not acted swiftly and effectively to contain the situation, the consequences could have been catastrophic.

Iravani also dismissed Israel’s claims of conducting “precise and targeted” strikes as false and misleading.

“Israel deliberately struck densely populated, civilian areas in several major Iranian cities, home to millions of people,” he said, adding that at least 224 civilians, including women and children, have been killed and many victims were children.

The Iranian envoy said Washington has supported the Israeli attacks. “Without the weapons, intelligence, and political backing of the United States, this assault would not have been possible. The U.S. bears joint responsibility for this unlawful act.”

Iravani noted that the attack occurred just before the scheduled resumption of the sixth round of nuclear talks in Muscat, where Iran had submitted a new proposal in good faith.

He hastened to add that the U.S., in contrast, acted in bad faith and undermined diplomacy.

According to the ambassador, Israel’s actions were part of a broader pattern to derail negotiations, escalate conflict, and deflect attention from ongoing crimes, especially the genocide in Gaza.

“Iran did not initiate any war and had not attacked Israel,” he said. “The fabricated ‘existential threat’ narrative lacks any legal basis and is used merely to justify aggression and cover up war crimes.”

Elsewhere in his comments, Iravani warned that any country aiding Israel’s aggression would share legal responsibility for its consequences.

He said Iran had requested an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting on Friday, urging immediate action to condemn the aggression and stop the attacker, but the Council had so far failed to act.

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