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STORY: UN / GULF REGION
TRT: 05:31
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 02 JULY 2026, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters
02 JULY 2026, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Wide shot, Assistant Secretary-General Elizabeth Spehar addressing Council
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Elizabeth Spehar, Assistant Secretary-General, Department of Political and
Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA):
“Last weekend witnessed a troubling resurgence of military confrontations between the United States and Iran, even as mediation efforts continued in Doha under the auspices of Qatar to advance the implementation of the 17th of June Memorandum of Understanding.”
5. Wide shot, Spehar addressing Council
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Elizabeth Spehar, Assistant Secretary-General, Department of Political and
Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA):
“The Secretary-General unequivocally condemns all attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure. Such actions are unacceptable. Residential areas, ports, energy facilities, commercial vessels and maritime personnel must be protected. The Secretary-General has consistently underscored the importance of upholding navigational rights. Merchant shipping should not be used as a tool of pressure, and the security of international maritime routes must not be compromised.”
7. Med shot, Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani addressing Council
8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Bahrain:
“The precision with which the targets were selected, and the repeated targeting of the same civilian sites, demonstrates that these attacks were neither random nor incidental. Rather, they reflect deliberate, premeditated, and systematic planning.”
9. Med shot, Iran Ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani
10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Bahrain:
“As for the claim that this aggression is merely a response to the acts of another state, Bahrain is an independent, sovereign nation that is not a party to any conflict. Any state that has a dispute with another must address it directly, not transfer its consequences onto civilians in a third country.”
11. Med shot, United States Ambassador Mike Waltz addressing Council
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Mike Waltz, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, United States:
“Last week, Iran fired missiles and drones at civilian infrastructure in Bahrain and Kuwait. Why? Why? They also fired at commercial vessels transiting Omani territories. So again, we just heard, well, Iran has a right to defend itself. Okay. Do they have the right to attack Kuwait and attack random civilian ships flagged by Panama and Singapore in international waters? Is that a right under article 51 of the UN charter? I would think not.”
13. Med shot, Waltz addressing Council
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Mike Waltz, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, United States:
“And today we once again urge Iran to revert to the path of peace and dialog. The world is not with Iran. Iran's own people are not with this regime. Its neighbours are not with this regime. Colleagues on this Council and all responsible nations, it is a time for choosing.”
15. Wide shot, Council
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Amir-Saeid Iravani, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Irean:
“The facts are clear. In the midst of diplomatic negotiations, together with the Israeli regime, the United States betrayed diplomacy twice and launched two wars of aggression against Iran in blatant violation of the Charter of the United Nations and international law. These violations constitute a grave threat to international peace and security.”
17. Wide shot, Iravani addressing Council
18. SOUNDBITE (English) Amir-Saeid Iravani, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Irean:
“The role of the victims and aggressor must not be reversed. The United States and Israeli regime have flagrantly violated the UN Charter and international law, including international humanitarian law, by imposing two unjustified and unwarranted wars against Iranian people.”
19. Wide shot, Iravani addressing Council
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Amir-Saeid Iravani, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Irean:
“There is no doubt that certain regional countries, including Bahrain, facilitated this aggression by allowing the territory and airspace to be used by aggressors. The international responsibility alongside the United States and Israeli regime is clear and undeniable. You know that according to the General Assembly resolution, providing your space and soil to aggressor is an act of aggression.”
21. Wide shot, end of meeting
22. Wide shot, Al Zayani and ambassadors at stakeout podium
23. SOUNDBITE (English) Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Bahrain:
“Iran has once again launched ballistic missiles and armed drones against my country, striking civilian areas in direct breach of its commitment under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding of the 17th of June to permanently cease military operations.”
24. Wide shot, Al Zayani and ambassadors st stakeout podium
25. SOUNDBITE (English) Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Bahrain:
“These attacks must stop. Council resolutions must be implemented, and international commitments must be honoured. The credibility of this Council rests on not on adopting resolutions, but on seeing them upheld.”
26, Pan right, ambassadors walk away
Addressing a Security Council emergency session as a fragile US-Iran ceasefire came under renewed strain following fresh military exchanges, Assistant Secretary-General Elizabeth Spehar today (2 Jul) said, “residential areas, ports, energy facilities, commercial vessels and maritime personnel must be protected” and “merchant shipping should not be used as a tool of pressure.”
The military exchanges have reportedly included in recent days attacks by Iran on Bahrain and Kuwait.
Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani told the Council that “the precision with which the targets were selected, and the repeated targeting of the same civilian sites, demonstrates that these attacks were neither random nor incidental. Rather, they reflect deliberate, premeditated, and systematic planning.”
Al Zayani said, “as for the claim that this aggression is merely a response to the acts of another state, Bahrain is an independent, sovereign nation that is not a party to any conflict,” adding that “any state that has a dispute with another must address it directly, not transfer its consequences onto civilians in a third country.”
United States Ambassador Mike Waltz, for his part questioned Iran’s claims of self-defence. He said, “do they have the right to attack Kuwait and attack random civilian ships flagged by Panama and Singapore in international waters? Is that a right under article 51 of the UN charter? I would think not.”
Walts urged Iran “to revert to the path of peace and dialog” and said, “it is a time for choosing.”
Iranian Ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani told the Council that the United States and Israel had “betrayed diplomacy twice and launched two wars of aggression against Iran in blatant violation of the Charter of the United Nations and international law,” and said, “these violations constitute a grave threat to international peace and security.”
Iravani said, “the role of the victims and aggressor must not be reversed. The United States and Israeli regime have flagrantly violated the UN Charter and international law, including international humanitarian law, by imposing two unjustified and unwarranted wars against Iranian people.”
He said, “here is no doubt that certain regional countries, including Bahrain, facilitated this aggression by allowing the territory and airspace to be used by aggressors. The international responsibility alongside the United States and Israeli regime is clear and undeniable. You know that according to the General Assembly resolution, providing your space and soil to aggressor is an act of aggression.”
Before the meeting, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister told reporters outside the Council that “Iran has once again launched ballistic missiles and armed drones against my country, striking civilian areas in direct breach of its commitment under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding of the 17th of June to permanently cease military operations.”
He said, “these attacks must stop. Council resolutions must be implemented, and international commitments must be honoured. The credibility of this Council rests on not on adopting resolutions, but on seeing them upheld. “
