UN Security Council meets after US and Israeli attacks on Iran
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the strike at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
- The United States and Israel launched a military attack on Iran, killing its top leader and senior officials.
- President Trump said the move was to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
- Social media claims the United Nations was wrong to label Trump a war criminal.
After weeks of tensions, the United States and Israel carried out attacks on Iran over the weekend.
President Donald Trump said the airstrikes began on February 28 and killed the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei and other senior officials. Iran launched a counterattack across the Middle East.
Four U.S. service members were killed in the attack, and President Trump said Americans should expect many more casualties. According to Reuters, civilians have also been targeted among the reported Iranian deaths.
“At this time, combat operations continue at full strength and will continue until all of our goals are achieved,” President Trump said in a video posted to social media on March 1. “We have very strong goals.”
As U.S. lawmakers debated the airstrikes, a social media post viewed more than 1.8 million times falsely claimed that Trump was a wanted war criminal. Here’s what you need to know:
No, the UN did not label Trump a war criminal
“Major update: Donald Trump has just been labeled a ‘wanted international war criminal’ by the United Nations Security Council,” the March 1 X post reads.
That’s not true.
The United Nations Security Council convened an emergency meeting on February 28 in response to the Iranian airstrike.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the attacks by both the US and Israel and the counterattack by Iran, and called on member states to abide by international law.
“We condemn today’s military escalation in the Middle East. The use of force against Iran by the United States and Israel, and subsequent Iranian retaliation across the region, undermines international peace and security,” he said in a statement on social media. “I call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and de-escalation of tensions. Failure to do so risks triggering a wider regional conflict, with serious implications for civilians and regional stability.”
According to UN News, Iranian Ambassador Amir Saeed Iravani said the military action was a war against the UN Charter.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Walz told the council that military action was legal and necessary.
“Iran cannot have nuclear weapons,” Walz said at the meeting. “That principle is not a matter of politics. It is a matter of global security. That is why the United States is taking lawful actions.”
Contributors: Kim Hjelmgaard, Zac Anderson, BrieAnna J. Frank, USA TODAY
Kinsey Crowley is a Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Please contact KCrowley@usatodayco.com. follow her X (Twitter), blue sky and TikTok.
