UN Security Council meeting on January 16, 2026. Photo: Screengrab/Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United States warned on Friday that “all options” against Iran are “on the table”, as the UN Security Council convened an emergency meeting to discuss the situation inside the country amid nationwide protests and reports of killings.
The meeting featured testimony from Masih Alinejad, an Iranian journalist and human rights activist, who said many protesters have pinned hope on US President Donald Trump to strike the regime.
Referring to a young protester, she said: “Siyavash Shirzad, 30 years old - his family begged him not to go out to the streets because of his safety. He said to his family: ‘I go to the streets to celebrate the victory of our revolution, because President Trump promised to rescue our lives.’”
Trump initially issued strong warnings toward Iran and encouraged protesters to continue, saying that “help is on the way,” but later softened his tone, claiming that the killing in Iran had stopped. Despite this shift, Washington’s envoy to the United Nations said the use of military force remains an option.
“President Trump is a man of action, not endless talk like what we see at the United Nations. He has made it clear all options are on the table to stop this slaughter,” said Michael Waltz, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations.
Iran’s delegation strongly rejected the US position, accusing Washington of acting at Israel’s behest and seeking to justify aggression.
“The United States' request for this meeting is shameful to conceal their direct complicity in the crime their mercenaries have committed against our nations from 8 to 10 January, as part of Israeli's malicious attempts to drag America into another war of aggression against Iran,” said Gholamhosein Darzi, Iran’s Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN.
Russia and China both voiced opposition to any US military intervention. Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, told Rudaw that the Security Council's meeting organized by the US "is merely another attempt to justify blatant aggression and interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state.”
Speaking to Rudaw after the session, Nebenzya warned that the developments could signal a dangerous trajectory.
“I said in my statement, we are very much concerned that this is a preparation - you know, a preparation for military intervention,” he said.
China’s Deputy Permanent Representative, Sun Lei, echoed that stance, stating: “We oppose the use or threat of force in international relations, oppose imposing one’s will upon other countries and oppose any regression of the world to the law of the jungle.”
Alinejad, meanwhile, urged Trump to act decisively against Tehran and support change in Iran’s political system. “You know, I cannot predict President Trump, but I know if he makes the same mistake as President Obama did in 2009, if he does the same mistake President Biden did in 2022, history will judge him,” she told Rudaw.
Iran is facing its most serious internal security crisis in years, as widespread anti-government protests continue following a historic currency collapse that pushed the rial to a record low of 1.45 million to the US dollar.
The unrest began on December 28, when merchants closed their shops at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar in the Alaeddin Mall, and has since expanded into at least 190 separate demonstrations across all 31 provinces of the country.
According to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) organization, “at least 3,428 protesters have been killed, and thousands injured,” underscoring the scale and severity of the crackdown.
Namo Abdulla contributed to this report from New York.
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