Iran (IMNA) – Gholamhossein Darzi, Iran’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, made the remarks during a Security Council session on conflict and food security, stressing that armed conflict remains a major driver of hunger and food insecurity.
He said addressing food insecurity requires confronting the root causes of aggression, occupation, unlawful coercive measures and the deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure.
Referring to Security Council Resolution 2417, Darzi said the resolution condemns starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and obstruction of humanitarian access. He also accused Israel of committing what he described as a “genocidal war” against Palestinians in Gaza, involving violations of international humanitarian law, including attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure and the use of starvation as a weapon.
Darzi said the Security Council had repeatedly failed to act because of U.S. political support and obstruction.
He claimed that the United States and Israel launched an illegal war against Iran on February 28, 2026, resulting in the killing of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, several senior officials and more than 3,400 civilians.
According to Darzi, an Islamabad memorandum of understanding signed on June 17 explicitly required the United States to refrain from any threat or use of force against Iran. He said Washington subsequently violated the memorandum by launching another military aggression against Iran beginning on June 27, which, he said, killed more than 60 civilians and wounded more than 630 others.
He also accused the U.S. of deliberately targeting airports, bridges, transport infrastructure, vessels, search-and-rescue facilities and weather stations.
Darzi said responsibility should not be limited to the primary aggressors, arguing that states that facilitated the military campaign by providing bases, logistical or intelligence support, or access to their airspace should also be held accountable.
He further referred to a statement by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on August 12, saying U.S. forces had diverted 59 commercial vessels, disabled three and boarded two.
The Iranian envoy said these measures, along with what he described as the “economic exclusion operation” announced by the U.S. Treasury Secretary on August 24, were intended to impose an economic siege on Iran and turn food, energy, trade and access to basic goods into instruments of pressure and war.
Darzi rejected any justification of such measures on the grounds of security or freedom of navigation, saying they violate fundamental human rights, sovereign equality, the principle of non-intervention and freedom of navigation, as well as Security Council Resolution 2417.
He called on the Security Council to decisively condemn and reject U.S. unilateral coercive measures and urged governments to reject the extraterritorial application of American sanctions.
Iran, he added, reserves the right to pursue accountability, compensation and its rights through all available avenues.
Darzi also reaffirmed Iran’s inherent right to self-defense under international law in response to what he called continued U.S. aggressive and unlawful actions, stressing that Iran’s actions are legal and defensive in nature.
Regarding the Strait of Hormuz, Darzi said Iran, as a coastal state, has the legitimate right to take necessary measures in response to aggression against its territory and sovereignty.
He argued that the only durable path toward restoring peace, regional stability and safe shipping is to end the aggression, fully respect Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, lift what he described as illegal naval blockades and unilateral coercive measures, and provide credible guarantees against their recurrence.
He further said that any arrangements concerning the Strait of Hormuz could only be established, arranged and managed by its coastal states, Iran and Oman.
Darzi rejected what he described as baseless allegations by several Security Council members that Iran had disrupted maritime trade in and around the Strait of Hormuz, saying such accusations ignore the root causes of the situation and seek to shift responsibility from the aggressor to the victim.
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