Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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January 15, 2026 Human rights
An emergency meeting of the Security Council on the situation in Iran opened in New York on Thursday. It was convened at the initiative of the United States in response to reports from Iran of a violent crackdown on mass protests that began in December.
The right to peaceful protest
All Iranians must be able to express their grievances peacefully and without fear, Assistant Secretary-General Martha Pobi said at a UN Security Council meeting.
She recalled that the UN chief had previously expressed deep concern over reports of excessive use of force against protesters in Iran. The UN emphasizes the need to respect the rights of the country's residents to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.
According to the latest reports, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people have been killed in Iran, where mass protests continue unabated. The UN has no way to confirm these figures, Pobi noted. All deaths must be investigated, and those responsible brought to justice, she emphasized.
Human rights activists report numerous arrests across the country. By mid-January 2026, the number of detainees is estimated to have exceeded 18,000.
"We call on the authorities to respect the right to due process and a fair trial for all those detained. Everyone must be treated humanely," Pobi said. She called on Iran's leadership not to use the death penalty in response to the protests.
"Public statements about military strikes against Iran"
According to Pobi, the UN notes with alarm "various public statements suggesting possible military strikes against Iran."
"This external factor adds instability to an already explosive situation," she said, calling for maximum restraint.
"The Secretary-General remains convinced that all concerns regarding Iran, including those related to the nuclear issue and the ongoing protests, are best addressed through diplomacy and dialogue," Pobi added.
The UN reminds of the need to refrain from any actions that could lead to further loss of life or provoke a wider regional escalation.
Iranian journalist and dissident: "Iran is plunged into darkness"
"What is needed now is real and concrete action to hold accountable those who order the massacres in Iran," Alinejad said.
"The voices of millions of innocent, unarmed Iranians have been silenced by bullets, mass arrests, detentions, and a complete communications blackout—no internet, no mobile phones, no landlines. Iran is plunged into complete darkness," Alinejad added.
"I am here to bring their voices to this room," she emphasized. "I am here to tell you that brutal atrocities are taking place in my beloved homeland, Iran."
Arrest for participating in a protest
Meanwhile, Iranian-American journalist and human rights activist Ahmad Batebi told UN Security Council members how Iranian authorities arrested him for participating in a protest during his student years. He claimed he was tortured in custody and forced to "confess" on camera that he was a paid American spy.
"The situation in Iran is exactly the same now," he emphasized. "Many innocent people are taking to the streets demanding their rights, and the Iranian regime is filming them and claiming they are Mossad agents."
US: Iranian regime bears responsibility for suffering of its citizens
US Permanent Representative to the UN Mike Waltz thanked the human rights activists who spoke out for their courage.
"The level of violence and the level of repression that the Iranian regime has unleashed against its citizens and its own people has implications for international peace and security," he said.
According to Waltz, "despite attempts to justify itself, the regime itself is responsible for the economic suffering of the Iranian people" and "will be held accountable."
In addition to gross human rights violations and the "illegal" development of a nuclear weapons program, the US representative recalled the explosion of his country's embassy in Beirut and also stated that Iran's partners and proxies "destabilized the Middle East" by funding Hezbollah and the Houthis and supporting the "brutal Assad regime."
"Iranians are fed up," he said, emphasizing that it was "the regime's disregard for its citizens" that had put the ayatollahs in their current position.
Russia: "The US is fueling hysteria around Iran"
Since late December, the entire world has been watching as the United States continues to escalate tensions and fuel hysteria around Iran, claiming that "help is already on the way," said Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN. According to him, "in its official statements, Washington has not even attempted to camouflage the true reasons for its so-called 'concerns' about the domestic political situation in the country, threatening new strikes against Iran."
"Today's meeting, convened by our American colleagues, is nothing more than yet another attempt to justify blatant aggression and interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state. And if the Iranian authorities, as Washington puts it, don't 'come to their senses,' then they will resolve the Iranian problem in their favorite way: by launching strikes to overthrow the 'undesirable regime,'" Nebenzya added.
China "consistently" advocates upholding the principles of the UN Charter
Chinese diplomat Sun Lei stated that the United States is openly threatening to use force against Iran. He emphasized that China consistently upholds the principles of the UN Charter and international law, and that the sovereign equality of states and non-interference in internal affairs are the "fundamental norms" of international relations. He argued that the use of force never resolves problems, and military adventures could push the region toward catastrophe.
Sun Lei added that "an obsession with force" and "arbitrary interference" only breed conflict and hatred. "Any action that violates international law is unacceptable," the diplomat emphasized.
UK Permanent Representative: We pay tribute to the courage of the Iranian people
Archibald Young, Britain's permanent representative to the UN, said his country was "appalled" by reports that thousands of people may have been killed and many more arrested in Iran in what he called the worst crackdown on public protests in decades.
"Despite the regime's near-total internet shutdown, videos coming out of Iran suggest that these reports may even underestimate the true scale of the horror now unfolding there," he said, adding that "the regime will claim that these protests were instigated by foreign-backed forces, but lies and propaganda cannot justify its actions."
"Let me make it clear again and again: we condemn the regime's actions in the strongest possible terms," he emphasized. "We pay tribute to the courage of the Iranian people, especially Iranian women. Once again, they boldly declare their desire to live in freedom and dignity, despite repression and violence."
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