Betul Yilmaz
13 June 2025•Update: 13 June 2025
ISTANBUL
Iran on Friday called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting to hold Israel accountable for its attack that targeted the Iranian nuclear program and military facilities and killed its top commanders and scientists.
The official news agency IRNA said Iran’s permanent mission to the UN sent an urgent letter to the Security Council, condemning Israel’s air strikes.
The letter requested an emergency Security Council meeting to “hold Israel accountable for its clear act of aggression.”
The mission also emphasized that the Israeli attacks “amounted to a declaration of war against Iran,” stressing that Tehran reserved its right to legitimate defense.
At least 86 people were killed and 341 others injured in large-scale Israeli airstrikes that targeted Iranian soil on Friday, according to the Fars news agency.
Israel launched a large-scale attack early Friday, deploying around 200 aircraft to target Iran’s nuclear program and long-range missile capabilities. Several senior Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists were killed in the strikes.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the “targeted” military operation will continue as long as necessary.
Iran has vowed "severe punishment" and called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
US President Donald Trump said on Truth Social he had given Iran “chance after chance to make a deal” and urged it to make one now “before it is too late.”
The escalation casts doubt over the future of nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington, which were being mediated by Oman. The sixth round of indirect talks, scheduled for Sunday, is now likely to be canceled, according to sources familiar with the matter.
