New York: A terse U.N. Security Council meeting on Sunday afternoon, Israel’s representative said Iran crossed every red line with its overnight attack. His Iranian counterpart called the launching of missiles and drones at Israel a “necessary and proportionate” response to Israeli aggression.
The U.N. Security Council met to discuss Iran’s first direct military attack on Israel, its decades-long foe.
A majority of the Security Council members, including the United States, condemned the attack, urging Middle Eastern leaders to avoid escalation of the six-month Israel-Gaza war.
In its overnight attack, Iran sent more than 300 drones and missiles toward Israel but did not cause major damage or injuries because a U.S.-led coalition destroyed most of the projectiles.
Representatives for the United States and Iran said they did not seek wider conflict, but they traded blame for months of instability in the region and whether Iran or Israel provoked Saturday’s escalation.
Ambassadors for Iran, Syria, Russia and China criticized the support of the United States and other countries that helped shoot down the drones and missiles.
The representatives also critiqued the Security Council for not condemning Israel’s April 1 attack on an Iranian diplomatic compound, a strike that killed seven members of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and led to Tehran’s retaliatory attack.
