Daijiworld Media Network - Tehran
Tehran, Jan 3: Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saeed Iravani has written to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the President of the UN Security Council (UNSC), urging them to condemn what he described as “unlawful threats” by United States President Donald Trump amid ongoing protests in the country.
In a letter sent on Friday, Iravani called on the UN leadership and Security Council members to “unequivocally and firmly condemn” Trump’s “reckless and provocative statements,” terming them a serious violation of the UN Charter and international law. The letter came hours after Trump said the US was “locked and loaded and ready to go” if more protesters were killed during demonstrations in Iran over the rising cost of living.
“Any attempt to incite, encourage or legitimise internal unrest as a pretext for external pressure or military intervention is a gross violation of the sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Iravani said. The full text of the letter was published by Iran’s state news agency IRNA.
The envoy reiterated that Iran has the inherent right to defend its sovereignty and warned that Tehran would “exercise its rights in a decisive and proportionate manner.” He added that the United States would bear “full responsibility for any consequences arising from these illegal threats and any subsequent escalation of tensions.”
Meanwhile, protests continued across several Iranian cities on Friday, including Qom, Marvdasht, Yasuj, Mashhad and Hamedan, as well as neighbourhoods in Tehran such as Tehranpars and Khak Sefid, IRNA reported. The unrest began after shopkeepers in Tehran went on strike over high prices and economic stagnation.
According to official figures, at least nine people have been killed and 44 arrested so far. The deputy governor of Qom province said another person died after a grenade exploded in his hand, alleging it was an attempt to incite unrest.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump warned that if Iran “violently kills peaceful protesters,” the United States would “come to their rescue.” Responding sharply, Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said US interference would lead to “chaos across the entire region and the destruction of American interests.”
Iran’s economic crisis, marked by a collapsing currency and high inflation, has been compounded by years of severe drought, particularly affecting Tehran, a city of around 10 million people.
Despite the tensions, Iranian leaders have adopted a relatively conciliatory tone. President Masoud Pezeshkian admitted that the government was “at fault” and promised to seek solutions, a response observers say contrasts with the harsher crackdowns seen during previous protests.
The latest war of words follows heightened regional tensions after the US bombed three Iranian nuclear sites in June during a 12-day escalation between Israel and Iran, an operation Trump later described as “very successful.” Last week, during talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump warned the US would “knock the hell out” of Iran if it advanced its nuclear or ballistic missile programmes. Pezeshkian has vowed a “severe” response to any aggression.