Iran says it had advance notice of IDF strikes; UN Security Council to meet Monday
Tehran invokes UN charter to assert right to respond; Israeli envoy Danny Danon says claim that Saturday attack violated international law ‘ridiculous,’ Israel must defend itself
The United Nations Security Council is expected to meet on Monday to discuss Israel’s strikes on Iran, diplomats said on Sunday, as Iran’s top diplomat said his regime received advance notice of the widespread attack.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called on the Security Council to “convene an urgent meeting” about the Saturday attack and diplomats said the council was likely to discuss the situation on Monday.
In a letter to the 15-member council on Saturday, Araghchi denounced what he called “the Zionist regime’s unlawful and aggressive actions, which constitute a serious violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran and a flagrant breach of international law and the United Nations Charter.”
He added that the “Israeli regime’s actions constitute a grave threat to international peace and security and further destabilize an already fragile region.”
“The Islamic Republic of Iran, in alignment with the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and under international law, reserves its inherent right to legal and legitimate response to these criminal attacks at the appropriate time,” he wrote.
Israel launched a long-awaited retaliatory strike against Iran early Saturday, almost four weeks after the Islamic Republic’s massive ballistic missile barrage on the country, with the military saying the Israeli Air Force strikes targeted strategic military sites — specifically drone and ballistic missile manufacturing and launch sites, as well as air defense batteries.
Separately, Araghchi said Sunday that Iran had received indications on Friday evening that Israel was about to attack, according to Iranian media. He said that “hours before the Israeli attack, messages were exchanged with different parties,” and that Tehran subsequently took unspecified actions.
The Prime Minister’s Office denied reports that it gave an advance notice to Iran about the attack.
Iran had been bracing for a reprisal after its latest direct attack on Israel, in which it fired 200 ballistic missiles that sent most of the population to bomb shelters on October 1, killed a Palestinian man in the West Bank, and caused damage in residential areas and at military bases, though the IDF says the attack had no operational impact.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday that Iran did not seek war with Israel, but was ready to deliver “an appropriate response” to the airstrikes by the “Zionist regime.”
UN Ambassador Danny Danon rejected Iran’s complaint at the United Nations, saying in a statement on Sunday that Iran was “trying to act against us in the diplomatic arena with the ridiculous claim that Israel has violated international law.”
“As we have stated time and time again, we have the right and duty to defend ourselves and will use all the means at our disposal to protect the citizens of Israel,” Danon said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed “to all parties to cease all military actions, including in Gaza and Lebanon, exert maximum efforts to prevent an all-out regional war and return to the path of diplomacy,” his spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday.
AFP contributed to this report.
