US and Iran face off at UN Security Council: the 'aggressor' accusation cuts both ways

At the UN Security Council, convened at Bahrain's request, the US and Iran accused each other of aggression.

According to AA, US Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Jennifer Locetta charged Iran with undermining international maritime security through attacks on commercial vessels and support for armed groups in the Middle East. Locetta said, "Iran is ignoring this council; it is ignoring the overwhelming view of the international community." Locetta, who also accused the Houthis in Yemen of escalating attacks on Saudi Arabia, stressed that the US would stand by its Gulf partners.

Iran's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Gholamhossein Darzi, in turn accused Washington of launching an unjust war against Iran in violation of the UN Charter and the fundamental principles of international law. Saying "The US is the aggressor, not the victim," Darzi asserted that Iran's civilian infrastructure was being bombed and its sovereignty violated. Darzi, who also warned that any military operation by the US or Israel would trigger an "immediate and decisive" response, maintained that Iran has never closed the door to diplomacy.

The meeting was held under the heading "The situation in the Middle East."