UN Security Council Members Take Sides as Israel Trades Air Strikes With Iran

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) five permanent members are deeply divided, like with most global issues, in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as both countries continue to exchange air strikes that have claimed more than 80 lives.

Tensions erupted late Thursday when Israel launched a wave of unprovoked air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, reportedly killing at least 80 people, including top Iranian nuclear scientists and military officials.

The strikes have triggered swift retaliation from Iran, pushing the Middle East closer to a potential full-scale war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a defiant statement, warned that Israel would “strike every site and every target” in Iran as the conflict intensifies.

The UNSC emergency meeting held Friday evening showed sharp divisions among member states.

While Western powers such as the United States, France, and the United Kingdom, defended Israel’s actions as self-defense against a potential nuclear threat, other countries including Russia and China strongly condemned the Israeli offensive.

Other nations like Pakistan, Venezuela, South Africa, and Nigeria have also strongly condemned Israel’s escalation of long-standing tensions with Iran.

China’s Ambassador to the UN, Fu Cong, said an Israel–Iran conflict serves no one, while the UN called for peace.

Iran called Israel’s strikes a “declaration of war,” vowing limitless retaliation. It made good on that threat by launching hundreds of ballistic missiles at Tel Aviv, which hit both military and civilian infrastructure.

The Iranian strikes killed at least three people and left dozens injured, according to international media.

Speaking at the Security Council, U.S. representative McCoy Pit said Washington was informed about the strikes before time but is not involved in them. He said it is Israel’s right to defend itself.

Israel’s representative at the UN defended the nation’s actions as “an act of national preservation.”

Since then, Israel has continued to launch attacks on strategic sites in Iran, including oil fields and refineries, further destabilizing the region.

The UN’s Under-Secretary-General for political affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, has condemned “any military escalation in the Middle East” and has warned about the potential for a deeper regional war.