US Has Eliminated Humanity’s Greatest Existential Threat With Strikes On Iran: Israel's Envoy To UN Security Council

Israel's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Danny Danon has accused Iran of using its negotiations with the US on a nuclear peace deal as a "camouflage" and "delay tactic" to advance its missile and uranium enrichment programmes.

Israel’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Danny Danon. (Photo/UNYoutube)

Hailing the US strike on Iran's three nuclear facilities, Israel's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said that the  strikes eliminated what he called the "greatest existential threat to humanity."

He was addressing an emergency special session of the UN Security Council held at its headquarters in New York on Sunday (local time). The session was convened under the agenda item "Threats to international peace and security".

"The United States has eliminated the greatest existential threat to humanity--and yet, some nations still dare to condemn it. I asked members of the Security Council: Where were you when Iran enriched uranium beyond civilian use? Where were you when Iran openly plotted our destruction? You were silent, you were afraid, you were bystanders," Danon said. 

Danon accused Iran of using its negotiations with the US on a nuclear peace deal as a "camouflage" and "delay tactic" to advance its missile and uranium enrichment programmes. "Iran used the negotiating table as camouflage, a delay tactic, a way to buy time while building missiles and enriching uranium... We gave it every possible off-ramp; Iran would not move, so it had to be moved," he said.

Warning of the global consequences of inaction, the envoy added, "A nuclear Iran would have been a death sentence, just as much for you as it would have been for us." The remarks came amid the escalating conflict in the region following the US-led Operation Midnight Hammer, which targeted Iran's three key nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.

Earlier on Sunday, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) stated that approximately 20 Israeli Air Force (IAF) fighter jets conducted intelligence-based strikes using over 30 munitions on sites across Hamedan and Tehran in Iran.

In a post on X, the IDF stated that the targets included missile storage and launch infrastructure, radar and satellite systems used for aerial intelligence, and a surface-to-air missile launcher near Tehran.

It noted that the strikes were part of an ongoing effort to "degrade the Iranian regime's military capabilities and secure aerial superiority to protect Israeli civilians."

"Approx. 20 IAF fighter jets conducted intelligence-based strikes using over 30 munitions on sites across Kermanshah, Hamedan and Tehran. Targets included: Missile storage & launch infrastructure. Radar and satellite systems are used for aerial intel. A surface-to-air missile launcher near Tehran. These strikes are part of our ongoing effort to degrade the Iranian regime's military capabilities and secure aerial superiority to protect Israeli civilians," the IDF stated.

The conflict between Israel and Iran entered its eleventh day on Monday. Tension between the two Middle Eastern nations began when Israel launched 'Operation Rising Lion' on June 13, targeting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, military bases, and senior commanders. 

In response, Iran initiated its military operation, named Operation 'True Promise 3', launching drone and missile attacks against Israeli targets. Tensions escalated further after the United States conducted airstrikes on three nuclear sites in Iran on Saturday.

(With ANI inputs)