Assistant Secretary\u2011General Martha Pobee delivered the warning during an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in New York, convened by the United States to address the deepening crisis. She described the situation in Iran as \u201cfluid and deeply concerning,\u201d noting that protests are continuing, though on a smaller scale than in the previous week.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However, Pobee voiced alarm over public statements hinting at possible military strikes on Iran, saying this \u201cexternal dimension adds volatility to an already combustible situation\u201d and urging all sides to work to avoid further deterioration.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
UN Secretary\u2011General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres also appealed for \u201cmaximum restraint,\u201d insisting that concerns over Iran\u2019s nuclear programme and the ongoing demonstrations must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.<\/p>\n
The protests began on 28 December, when shopkeepers in Tehran demonstrated against the collapse of the national currency, soaring inflation and worsening living conditions. The unrest quickly spread nationwide, becoming the largest anti\u2011government movement since the 2022 protests following the death of Jina Amini in police custody.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Iranian authorities imposed a near\u2011total communications blackout that remains largely in place. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of protesters and bystanders are believed to have been killed, while an estimated 18 000 people have been detained, figures the UN has not yet been able to independently verify.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Iranian government has said it acted in response to what it called \u201corganised terrorists\u201d and \u201crioters\u201d allegedly seeking to provoke foreign military intervention, blaming them for the deaths of civilians and security personnel.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Iranian journalist and dissident Masih Alinejad, addressing the Council, called for \u201creal and concrete action\u201d to bring accountability for those responsible for the violence. Iranian\u2011American human rights activist Ahmad Batebi recounted his own experiences of arrest, torture and coerced confessions as a student protester.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
US Ambassador Mike Waltz said the scale of the Iranian authorities\u2019 response posed a threat to international peace and security, arguing that the Iranian people \u201care demanding their freedom like never before.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In response, Iran\u2019s Deputy Permanent Representative Gholamhossein Darzi accused the US of spreading \u201clies\u201d and \u201cdeliberate disinformation\u201d to conceal its alleged role in fomenting unrest. He also criticised the civil society speakers, claiming they represented American and Israeli political agendas.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–UN\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":22519,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-22518","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"A senior United Nations (UN) official has urged all parties to take urgent steps to prevent further violence in Iran, as nationwide protests appear to be easing after nearly three weeks of unrest and bloodshed.\n","published_date":null,"news_description":"A senior United Nations (UN) official has urged all parties to take urgent steps to prevent further violence in Iran, as nationwide protests appear to be easing after nearly three weeks of unrest and bloodshed.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/22518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/22518\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25791,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/22518\/revisions\/25791"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=22518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}