U.S. and Iran Clash at UN After Joint Strikes Target Iranian Leadership

By Newsmax Wires | Saturday, February 28, 2026, 8:25 p.m. EST

A tense exchange unfolded Saturday at the U.N. Security Council as American and Iranian diplomats confronted each other hours after U.S. and Israeli forces executed coordinated strikes on Iranian military and leadership targets.

Iran’s ambassador to the U.N., Amir Saeid Iravani, cautioned the U.S. delegation during an emergency session.
“I advise the representative of the United States to be polite,” he said, adding that “it would be better for yourself and the country you represent.”

U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz responded bluntly.
“Frankly, I am not going to dignify this with another response,” he stated, criticizing Tehran’s leadership as a regime that has “killed tens of thousands of its own people and imprisoned many more simply for wanting freedom from your tyranny.”

The emergency meeting was convened following French President Emmanuel Macron’s call for urgent consultations after news broke of the U.S.-Israeli operation. He warned of “grave consequences for international peace and security” if tensions escalated.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged restraint.
“The alternative is a potential wider conflict with grave consequences for civilians and regional stability,” he said, arguing that the strikes violated international law, including the U.N. Charter.

Waltz rejected this characterization, asserting that the U.S. was “taking lawful actions” and reiterating that Iran “cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

Iravani accused the United States and Israel of committing war crimes and claimed civilians were killed in the strikes.

Earlier Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that Ali Khamenei, Iran’s leader for decades, was killed during the opening phase of the operation. Iranian state media confirmed Khamenei’s death later that day.

Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon defended the campaign, telling the council that “we are stopping extremism before it becomes unstoppable” and vowing that no “radical regime armed with nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles” would be allowed to threaten Israel or the broader international community.

The European Commission announced it would convene a special security session Monday to assess the fallout as diplomatic and military tensions continued to rise.