\u201cDuring the Security Council meeting, we will demand from the United States and Israel to immediately cease their illegal and escalatory actions and embark on a path toward a political and diplomatic settlement,\u201d it added in a statement.<\/p>\n
In a letter to the United Nations, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called on the Security Council to take \u201cimmediate\u201d steps to halt what it said was an illegal aggression by the United States and Israel.<\/p>\n
\t Araghchi said the council must \u201caddress the US and Israeli regime\u2019s acts of aggression\u201d and \u201ctake the necessary and immediate measures to halt this unlawful use of force.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe United States and the Israeli regime shall bear full and direct responsibility for all ensuing consequences, including any escalation arising from their unlawful actions,\u201d he added in the letter.<\/p>\n Iran requests emergency IAEA meeting<\/p>\n Also Saturday, Iran called for an emergency meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog to discuss \u201cbaseless\u201d US and Israeli claims that Tehran\u2019s atomic program partly justified their military action against it.<\/p>\n \u201cIn light of ongoing acts of aggression by the US and Israeli regimes\u2026 (Iran) called for an urgent extraordinary meeting\u201d of the International Atomic Energy Agency\u2019s board of governors, Iran\u2019s mission to the Vienna-based agency said on X.<\/p>\n The post included an image of its formal request letter, addressed to IAEA chief Rafael Grossi.<\/p>\n \t \u201cBaseless claims, vicious threats and wrongful acts of aggressors against Iran\u2019s peaceful nuclear program shall be addressed by the Board immediately,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n Grossi took part in the US-Iranian talks on February 17 and 26, which some observers saw as the last chances to avoid a conflict.<\/p>\n The UN nuclear watchdog stressed on Friday the \u201cutmost urgency\u201d of its request to verify all nuclear material in Iran, according to a confidential report seen by AFP.<\/p>\n Iran has consistently denied seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. However, it enriched uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities, and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities. Israel said Iran had recently taken steps toward weaponization.<\/p>\n After long weeks of escalating regional tensions and burgeoning threats of conflict, Israel and the US launched a major joint strike on Iran on Saturday morning, with waves of attacks on sites across the Islamic Republic continuing throughout the day.<\/p>\n Iran vowed a crushing response to the military campaign and launched repeated missile barrages at Israel starting at around 10 a.m., sending millions into shelters repeatedly as air defenses worked to intercept the threats. The Magen David Adom ambulance service reported that it treated a total of 90 people who were lightly injured as a result of the Iranian attacks, the vast majority of them indirectly.<\/p>\n Iran was also reported to launch missile attacks on multiple countries hosting some of the tens of thousands of American troops deployed across the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tIn this handout photo released by Iran\u2019s foreign ministry on February 26, 2026, Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (L) speaks with Oman\u2019s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi during their meeting in Geneva. (Iran\u2019s Foreign Ministry \/ AFP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AFP__20250908__73RL2G9__v1__HighRes__AustriaUnIaeaDiplomacyNuclear-1-640x400.jpg\"){kind=spacer}
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\n\t\tA picture taken on September 8, 2025, in Vienna, Austria, shows the UN District\u2019s Vienna International Centre, home of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), during its Board of Governors meeting. (Photo by Joe Klamar \/ AFP)<\/p>\n
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