THE APEX TIMES
Waltz showed what he said was evidence of missile and drone damage and told Iran’s representative Amir Saeid Iravani that the United Nations Security Council would not be “silenced” after attacks targeting Gulf neighbors.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz confronted Iran’s UN representative Amir Saeid Iravani during an emergency exchange at the UN Security Council on July 3, after the United States and Gulf governments described drone and missile strikes targeting Bahrain and Kuwait.
According to Waltz’s remarks reported by Fox News, he held up images he said showed damage in Bahrain and warned Iran would not be able to control the Security Council’s deliberations. “Let me remind you where you are,” Waltz told Iravani, according to the report. “This is the United States of America. This is the United Nations Security Council. You will not silence this body.”
The confrontation took place amid a tense Security Council meeting called in response to attacks described as occurring on Sunday. Fox News reported that the council convened after the United States carried out new airstrikes against Iran, heightening scrutiny of Tehran’s actions in the region and expanding the diplomatic confrontation from the battlefield to the UN chamber.
Bahrain’s foreign minister, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, told the Security Council that Iran had launched hundreds of attacks since February. Fox News reported that Bahrain cited 808 attacks and said the strikes had killed three civilians. Waltz’s presentation to the council, as described in the report, was aimed at rebutting what Iran’s representative said were misinformation claims about civilian targeting.
Iran’s envoy, Iravani, argued that the Security Council meeting should not have taken place and accused council members of “lies and disinformation” intended to justify U.S. actions. Fox News reported that Iravani rejected “unfounded accusations” made by certain Western members and Bahrain’s representative, and said the U.S. response to the attacks was an attempt to justify what he called unlawful aggression.
The Security Council exchange also unfolded against a broader backdrop of heightened concern about escalation between the United States and Iran. A UN page describing the council’s deliberations said the UN was “deeply concerned” about escalation and reports of attacks targeting Kuwait and Bahrain, and noted participation and support from Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
The immediate practical effect of the meeting was to place the dispute in formal international process, with the U.S. and Gulf states pressing the Security Council to address the attacks and Iran using the chamber to contest the allegations. The next steps would depend on whether the council moves toward further formal statements or measures addressing what member states described as cross-border violence and the risk of wider regional instability.
While the reported figures and descriptions were presented as assertions by the Bahraini and U.S. delegations, Iran’s position in the chamber, as summarized by Fox News, was to deny targeting civilians and to challenge the legitimacy of the council’s focus. The UN record of the meeting, including any official statements or transcripts, would be the governing document for what was formally said and attributed during the session.
