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By Joe Lauria / Consortium News
Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, in an address to the U.N. Security Council on Thursday, accused the United States of taking part in a regime change operation in Iran.
He said:
“What is happening on the streets of Iranian cities in recent days has gone far beyond peaceful protests. There have been documented cases of the use of firearms, killings of law enforcement officers and civilians, arson attacks on medical facilities and public institutions, and attacks on emergency services facilities. These actions cannot be covered up by the pretext of freedom of expression or the protection of human rights.
What is happening in Iran is yet another example of the use of tried and tested methods of ‘color revolutions,’ in which specially trained armed provocateurs turn peaceful protests into senseless riots, pogroms, destruction of public property, and brutal murders of police officers, state security personnel, and peaceful protesters, including children.
As we have already seen time and again in a number of countries, all these actions are either orchestrated or supported by external forces that are interested in so-called ‘regime change.’”
He said:
“Today’s meeting, convened by our American colleagues, is nothing but yet another attempt to justify blatant aggression and interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state. And if the Iranian authorities do not ‘come to their senses’ – as Washington put it – then the US will resolve the Iranian problem in their favorite way, namely through strikes geared towards overthrowing the undesirable regime.
In fact, in the current situation, these external forces are not not even bothering to hide their involvement in violent actions, especially given that the U.S. president has openly called on protesters to take over Iranian state institutions.
The U.S. and its ‘cheerleaders’ are actively exploiting the economic and social problems of ordinary Iranians, caused by the unlawful sanctions pressure imposed on Iran by Western countries. They are using sanctions to stir up public tensions and destabilize the domestic political situation.”
Nebenzia said the U.S. brought Iranians to speak to the Council [seen from 16:52 to 38:42 in the above video] who had lived in the U.S. for 20 years in order “to serve the positions of those who convened this meeting and have nothing to do with issues of international peace and security.”
He said: “In general, what is happening now is nothing but an embarrassment and a farce, a shoddy show unworthy of the members of the Council.”
He called the meeting a “circus” and a “cheap show.” One of the U.S. guest speakers accused Iran of committing “genocide” in its response to the violent uprising.
Nebenzia also warned of the “extremely dangerous and irresponsible rhetoric we hear in the recent days from the U.S. leadership, which has gone as far as openly calling for the ‘seizure of state institutions’ in Iran and threatening to provide ‘assistance’ to protesters. Such statements are nothing less than an incitement to violently change the constitutional order of a sovereign state.”
Read the full Russian statement.
Iranian Ambassador
Iran’s U.N. envoy Gholamhossein Darzi told the council he also rejected the briefers that the U.S. had brought to the meeting. “They do not represent Iranian civil society,” he said. “They represent the political agenda of the United States and Israeli regimes.” He accused them of being “on Mossad’s payroll.”
Darzi said that in the current violence many Iranians had been killed at the hands of the “atrocities of ISIS.” He accused the U.S. of engaging in disinformation to hide Washington’s role in trying to overthrow his government.
He said:
“It is deeply regrettable that the representative of the United States regime … has resorted to lies, distortions of facts and deliberate misinformation to conceal his country’s direct involvement in steering unrest in Iran to violence.”
Darzi accused the U.S. of employing mercenaries to commit crimes against his nation. “The United States regime is attempting to portray itself as friend of the Iranian people,” he said, “while simultaneously laying the groundwork for political destabilization and military intervention under a so-called humanitarian narrative.”
Speaking in English, Darzi then put the present U.S. operation into its historical context. He said:
“These claims are particularly cynical when viewed against the United States regime, long and well-documented record of unlawful military interventions, regime change operations and systematic violations of international law and the charter of the United Nations. Across the world, these policies have led to mass civilian casualties, the collapse of states, prolonged humanitarian disasters, and the emergence and empowerment of extremist and terrorist groups.
This is not a matter of opinion. It is a matter of historical record and fact. The Iranian people for decades have experienced the true meaning of the so-called support. The United States pattern of coercion and interference under deceptive pretext is clear.
From the orchestration of the 1956 (sic-1953) coup against the democratically- elected government of Dr. Mossadegh, to its extensive political, military, and intelligence backing of Saddam’s regime war of aggression against Iran.
From the downing of Iran Air Flight 655 in 1988, killing 290 innocent civilians to its complicity in assassinations, sabotage and attacks against Iranian civilian and infrastructure, including the war of aggression carried out in June 2025.”
In the past two weeks of unrest, Darzi said, the “United States regime is responsible “Peaceful protests that began on 28th of December 2025 with legitimate economic demands were deliberately hijacked by organized armed groups and transformed into violent riots.” The led to attacks on mosques and police stations, and beheadings and burning innocent people alive, Darzi said.
“The situation is in fact very simple. The United States regime and its accompllices, particularly the Israeli regime, cannot evade responsibility for the innocent blood that has been shed in my country,” he said.
“Unable to achieve their objectives through the 12-day war of aggression against Iran in June 2025, they now seek to pursue the same goals through political destabilization, internet internal unrest and chaos. This strategy relies on manufacturing casualties, spreading false and inflated figures, and creating a pretext for foreign intervention.
It is a familiar script, one that has been used repeatedly from Iraq to Libya and to Venezuela.”
Iran “seeks neither escalation nor confrontation,” he said. “However, any act of aggression, direct or indirect, will be met with a decisive, proportionate, and lawful response under Article 51 of the U.N. Charter,” he vowed.
“This is not a threat; it is a statement of legal reality. Responsibility for all consequences will rest solely with those who initiate such unlawful acts,” he said.
Adding to the evidence of armed foreign intervention into Iran during the current uprising, Reuters reported on Thursday that Kurdish separatist forces had entered from Iraq into Iran where they clashed with Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) forces.
After days of mounting pressure, the U.S. has apparently backed off its threats of military strikes, with Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff saying the U.S. prefers “diplomacy.” Gulf Arab states Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman, and Egypt, have all cautioned the U.S. against hitting Iran, fearing the consequences to the region of a wider war.
The New York Times reports that Gulf Arab monarchies are worried that replacing the Iranian regime would open the region to Israeli hegemony.
The Times also published a curious report under the headline, “Israel and Arab Nations Ask Trump to Refrain From Attacking Iran,” with a subtitle that reads: “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel asked the president to postpone any planned attack. Israeli and Arab officials fear Iran could retaliate by striking their countries.”
The article then starts by quoting just a single “senior U.S. official” saying Netanyahu “has asked President Trump to postpone any plans for an American military attack on Iran.”
But the article gives no reasons why Netanyahu, who has been pressuring Trump to strike Iran, would do this, nor does it backup the subtitle that says Israel fears Iranian retaliation. That would be a bombshell revelation that Israel is not prepared to take the counterattack from Iran, after it suffered damage from Iran in the June war.
The piece provides no further details and moves on to other subjects without again mentioning Israel’s supposed call to halt the attack. The Israeli outlet y net Global, however, reported:
“According to CNN, Israeli officials warned that air defense systems had been used extensively during last year’s direct conflict with Iran and that they did not believe Iranian regime would collapse quickly without prolonged military campaign.”
Watch the full Iranian statement above from 1:45.00 to 2:07.00.
The US Intervention
U.S. Ambassador Mike Walz told the meeting:
“Colleagues, let me be clear: The level of violence, the level of repression that the Iranian regime has unleashed on its own citizens, its own people, has repercussions for international peace and security. You’re going to hear today that it doesn’t, that it’s an internal matter. Absolutely wrong and false. This demands this Council’s attention.”
Walz said that U.S. sanctions on Iran had nothing to do with Iran’s economic hardships. “Regardless of its excuses – and you will hear many today from the Iranian regime and from its friends – the regime is solely – solely responsible for the economic misery of the Iranian people and the repression of their freedom, and they will be held accountable,” he said. Read the full U.S. speech.
The representative of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the meeting condemned Iran’s violent response but skirted Iran’s contention of armed protestors and ISIS attacks backed by the U.S. and Israel.
Rather than ignore Iran, leaving the impression of siding with the U.S., the United Nations, which is supposed to be a neutral body, should investigate Iran’s allegations to bring the world an understanding of what is really happening in Iran.
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Joe Lauria
Joe Lauria is editor-in-chief of Consortium News and a former U.N. correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and numerous other newspapers, including The Montreal Gazette and The Star of Johannesburg. He was an investigative reporter for the Sunday Times of London, a financial reporter for Bloomberg News and began his professional work as a 19-year old stringer for The New York Times. He can be reached at joelauria@consortiumnews.com and followed on Twitter @unjoe