The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) convened an emergency session on Thursday over the ongoing protests in Iran, which have raged on since December 28, 2025.
The American envoy renewed threats against the Islamic Republic as officials from the US and Iran faced each other, along with Iranian dissidents who rebuked the government’s bloody crackdown on protesters that has led to the killing of at least 2,637 as per estimates by human rights watch groups.
“Colleagues, let me be clear: President Trump is a man of action, not endless talk like we see at the United Nations,” Mike Waltz, US ambassador to the UN, said in a statement.
“He has made it clear that all options are on the table to stop the slaughter. And no one should know that better than the leadership of the Iranian regime,” he said.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly reiterated warnings of potential military action if Iran continues to kill protesters in the country.
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The 15-member UN body also heard from UN Assistant Secretary-General Martha Pobee, who said that the protests “have rapidly evolved into nationwide upheaval, resulting in significant loss of life”.
Pobee noted that human rights monitors have reported more than 18,000 people detained in Iran as of mid-January 2026, but emphasised the UN could not verify these figures due to access restrictions and an internet blackout.
Waltz said people of Iran were demanding freedom “like never before” in the Islamic Republic’s history, “and the Iranian regime is using allegations of foreign meddling as an excuse to kill and hide its failures”.
This drew a strong response from Iran’s deputy UN envoy, Gholam Hossein Darzi, who said that his country “seeks neither escalation nor confrontation”.
In a reiterated warning to both the US and Israel, Darzi said: “Any act of aggression, direct or indirect, will be met with a decisive, proportionate, and lawful response under Article 51 of the UN Charter.”
“This is not a threat; it is a statement of legal reality. Responsibility for all consequences will rest solely with those who initiate such unlawful acts,” he added.
On Wednesday, reports from Western-based media outlets claimed that Iran was beginning executions of protesters. On this, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said at the UNSC meeting that “hanging is out of the question”.
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