ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday said the United Nations failed in its response to the conflict between Israel and Iran, warning that the hostilities “could have led to a widespread and uncontrollable war in the region.”
He condemned the international community, particularly the United Nations Security Council and the UN’s nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), for failing to adopt “a more responsible approach toward the aggressors and warmongers.”
"It is now clearer than ever that the policy of appeasement with the Zionist regime regarding its systematic and repeated violations of human rights must be abandoned," Pezeshkian said during a televised interview.
He warned that had “the Zionist regime’s aggression gone unanswered, it could have led to a widespread and uncontrollable war in the region.”
The UN Security Council held three emergency sessions during the 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel, all at Iran’s request, to address the hostilities, including Israeli strikes, regional instability, and US attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday warned that the region risks “descending into a rathole of retaliation after retaliation.” He urged for diplomacy to prevail and called for Iran to grant full access to nuclear inspectors. The IAEA said it lost track of 400 kilograms of Iran’s enriched uranium during the conflict.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi warned that attacks on nuclear facilities could result in “radioactive releases with great consequences.”
After a US-brokered ceasefire with Israel came into effect, Iran’s parliament on Wednesday approved a bill to suspend cooperation with the IAEA. Tehran had accused the agency of taking “politically-motivated” measures against it. A final decision about continuing to work with the agency rests with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in a Friday post on X, said Iran was moving toward halting its cooperation with IAEA “until the safety and security of our nuclear activities can be guaranteed.”
He said Grossi “directly facilitated” IAEA’s resolution against Iran and Israeli and American strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites and “failed to explicitly condemn” violations of nuclear safeguards.
“The IAEA and its Director-General are fully responsible for this sordid state of affairs,” he said.
“Rafael Grossi's insistence on visiting the bombed sites under the pretext of safeguards is meaningless and possibly even malign in intent. Iran reserves the right to take any steps in defense of its interests, its people, and its sovereignty,” he added.
Tensions between US ally, Israel, and arch-foe, Iran, escalated on June 13 when Israel carried out numerous airstrikes against Iran’s nuclear and military sites, killing several commanders and nuclear scientists. US President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire on Tuesday. The truce seems to be holding so far.
Before the conflict erupted, the US and Iran were engaged in talks about the future of Iran’s nuclear program. Tehran has repeatedly accused Washington of betraying diplomacy. Araghchi on Thursday ruled out the possibility of the nuclear talks, a day after Trump announced that the two sides would meet again next week.
Updated at 6:57 pm.
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