ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Washington representative warned Tehran on Friday not to use its regional proxies to target American interests, speaking at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council after Israel attacked Iran, killing several military commanders and nuclear scientists.
McCoy Pitt, a senior State Department official, warned Iran of “dire” consequences should it put American interests in the Middle East at risk.
“Let me be crystal clear. No government, proxy, or independent actor should target American citizens, American bases, or other American infrastructure in the region. The consequences for Iran would be dire," he said.
He also reiterated President Donald Trump's stance on Iran: “This dangerous regime cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons.”
He advised the Iranian leadership that it "would be wise to negotiate at this time."
The sixth round of talks between the US and Iran are scheduled to take place in Oman on Sunday, but Iran is not expected to attend.
Iran fired a barrage of rockets at Israel Friday night and Saturday morning. At least two people have been killed and dozens injured, according to Israel media.
Iranian proxies in the region, including in Iraq, have largely been silent during this latest escalation between Iran and Israel.
Amir Saeid Iravani, Tehran’s envoy to the UN, told the Security Council that Iran has an "inherent right to self-defense as enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter."
He warned that Tehran will "respond decisively and proportionately to this act of aggression at a time, in a place, and by means of its choosing. This is not a threat. This is the natural, legal, and necessary consequence of an unprovoked military attack."
Iravani said those who support Israel, like the US, "are complicit in war crimes and crimes against humanity."
Danny Danon, Israel’s representative to the UN, said at the Security Council meeting that “When a regime builds ballistic missiles, enriches uranium to near weapons-grade and openly declares its intent to destroy us, we believe them."
He said that Israel had waited while Iran was enriching uranium to a level with no civilian justification and that the wait ended on Friday.
Iraq’s representative to the UN Abbas Kadhim Obaid censured Israel's "dangerous military aggression” and its "blatant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and the inviolability of its airspace.”
Baghdad has accused Israel of violating its airspace in its attack on Iran. Obaid warned that this "pushes us into conflicts we are not party to.”
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a social media post early Saturday morning, said it is “Time to stop.”
"Enough escalation," he wrote on X.
