IRAN has warned that it will determine “the timing, nature and scale” of its response to US airstrikes on its nuclear facilities, as tensions surged at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
The Associated Press cited today that Iran’s Ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, told the Council that “Iran had repeatedly warned the warmongering US regime to refrain from stumbling into this quagmire.”
He accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of persuading US President Donald Trump to “do the West’s dirty work” and hijack American foreign policy, “dragging the United States into yet another costly and baseless war.”
Calling the joint US-Israeli military action “a clear and flagrant breach of international law,” Iravani said recent diplomacy with European nations was deliberately undermined by Washington. “The United States decided to destroy that diplomacy,” he claimed.
“What conclusion can be drawn from this situation?” Iravani asked. “From the perspective of Western countries, Iran must ‘return to the negotiating table.’ But, as Iran’s foreign minister mentioned, ‘how can Iran return to something it never left — let alone.’”
In response, Acting US Ambassador Dorothy Shea reaffirmed President Trump’s warning that “any Iranian attack – direct or indirect – against Americans or American bases will be met with devastating retaliation.”
She defended the US strikes as necessary to protect Israel and American lives and to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Shea said Iran had “obfuscated” its nuclear activities and “stonewalled good-faith efforts in recent negotiations.” She urged the Council to demand that Iran cease its hostility toward Israel, end its nuclear ambitions, stop targeting US interests and “negotiate peace in good faith.”
The US Department of Homeland Security, meanwhile, issued a national terrorism bulletin warning of a heightened threat environment following the strikes, including potential cyber-attacks and antisemitic violence. The bulletin stated that there were “no specific credible threats against the homeland,” but cautioned that elevated risks are expected to persist throughout the summer.
Russia Condemns Strikes
Russia’s UN Ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, sharply criticised the United States, warning that the strikes had opened “a Pandora’s box.”
“No one knows what new catastrophes and suffering it will bring,” Nebenzia told the Council, accusing Washington of “gambling with the safety and well-being of humanity as a whole.”
He said Moscow had offered to mediate a diplomatic resolution to Iran’s nuclear programme, but claimed US leaders were “clearly not interested in diplomacy today.”
“Unless we stop the escalation,” he added, “the Middle East will find itself on the verge of a large-scale conflict with unpredictable consequences for the entire international security system, plus the entire world might end up on the verge of a nuclear disaster.”
The rising tensions have sent shockwaves through global markets. Brent crude oil jumped 3.9% to US$80 a barrel on Sunday, while US crude rose 4.3% to US$77. The conflict also pushed S&P 500 futures down by 0.6%, while US Treasury yields dipped slightly, reflecting investor unease. - June 23, 2025
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