Israel said that its extensive strikes on Iran on Friday targeted military leaders, ballistic missile manufacturing, and nuclear sites.
Iran’s envoy informed the UN that Israel’s initial round of strikes had left 320 people injured and 78 dead.
The attacks, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, marked the start of a protracted operation to stop Tehran from developing an atomic bomb.
According to Reuters, explosions were reported by Iranian witnesses and media, including at the nation’s primary uranium enrichment plant at Natanz.
Iran’s senior commander, Hossein Salami, was murdered, according to the country’s elite Revolutionary Guards corps, and state television said the Tehran headquarters of the force had been attacked.
Iranian state television said that six Iranian nuclear scientists had been slain.
Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, vehemently denounced Israel’s “unjustified and illegitimate” action against Iran in his remarks, reiterating Islamabad’s unwavering support for the Iranian government and people.
Israel “has now crossed every red line, and the international community must not allow these crimes to go unpunished,” according to Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who made the call for the Security Council meeting.
China, Russia, Algeria, and Pakistan were among the countries that backed the meeting proposal.
The Pakistani envoy called on the Security Council to fulfill its duty to enforce international law and put an immediate end to this aggression amid rising tensions.
Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), also briefed the Council, stating that his organization was constantly in communication with the Iranian Nuclear Regulatory Authority in order to evaluate the condition of impacted sites and ascertain the wider implications for nuclear safety and security.
He emphasized that under no circumstances should nuclear sites be targeted. “Such attacks have serious implications for regional and international peace and security, as well as nuclear security, safety, and safeguards,” Grossi stated.
The Pakistani Foreign Office did more than just denounce Israel’s conduct, calling it “unjustified and illegitimate aggression” that violated “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran” and the UN Charter.
“Iran has the right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter,” it stated clearly. Additionally, it called on everyone to “hold the aggressor accountable for its actions.”
Source: Dawn News, Reuters, Aljazeera and other media outlets
