U.S. warns Iran at U.N. Security Council that “all options are on the table”

U.S. envoy renews threats as Trump signals de-escalation

After weeks of escalating tension, U.S. and Iranian officials faced each other Thursday at the United Nations Security Council, where the U.S. envoy renewed threats against Iran despite President Donald Trump’s efforts to lower the temperature between the two adversaries.

Speaking to the council, Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said Trump is “a man of action, not endless talk like we see at the United Nations.” Waltz added that Trump “has made it clear that all options are on the table to stop the slaughter,” and told council members that “no one should know that better than the leadership of the Iranian regime.”

Waltz’s remarks came as the prospect of U.S. retaliation for protesters’ deaths still hung over the region, even as Trump signaled possible de-escalation and said the killing appeared to be ending.

Dissidents and Iranian deputy ambassador trade accusations

The emergency meeting included criticism from Iranian dissidents as well as from U.S. officials, with dissidents rebuking Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests that activists say have killed at least 2,677 people. The U.S. requested the meeting and invited two dissidents, Masih Alinejad and Ahmad Batebi, to describe their experiences before the council.

During the meeting, Hossein Darzi, the deputy Iranian ambassador to the U.N., blasted the U.S. for what he claimed was America’s “direct involvement in steering unrest in Iran to violence.” Darzi said that under the “hollow pretext” of concern for Iranian people and claims of support for human rights, the United States was attempting to portray itself as a friend while “simultaneously laying the groundwork for political destabilization and military intervention under a so-called ’humanitarian’ narrative.”

In what the AP described as a direct moment, Alinejad addressed the Iranian representative and said, “You have tried to kill me three times.” She told the council that she “have seen my would-be assassin with my own eyes in front of my garden, in my home in Brooklyn,” according to her remarks, which were delivered while the Iranian official looked ahead without acknowledging her.

A dissident’s sentencing reference and calls for accountability

The AP reported that in October, two purported Russian mobsters were each sentenced to 25 years behind bars for hiring a hit man to kill Alinejad at her New York home three years earlier, on behalf of the Iranian government.

Batebi told the council about prison mistreatment he said guards in Iran would inflict, and he offered a challenge if the council did not believe him: “If you do not believe me, I can show you my body right now,” he said.

Both dissidents called on the U.N. to do more to hold Iran accountable. Batebi pleaded with Trump not to “leave” the Iranian people alone, saying, “You encouraged people to go into the streets. That was a good thing. But don’t leave them alone.”

Russia was the only Security Council member that defended Iran’s actions while calling for the U.S. to stop intervening, the AP reported.

Protests “smothered,” but communications remain constrained

The AP said videos of demonstrations had stopped coming out of Iran, which it described as likely signaling a slowdown in the pace of protests under a heavy security presence in major cities.

In Tehran, witnesses told the AP that recent mornings showed no new signs of bonfires lit the night before or debris in the streets. The AP also reported that the sound of gunfire, which had been intense for several nights, had faded.

The death toll in the protests has risen, the AP said, citing the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. The AP reported the reported figure was an increase of 106 from a day earlier and that the organization said the number would likely continue to climb. The AP said it could not independently confirm the toll because communications in Iran were greatly limited and because the Iranian government has not provided casualty figures.

New U.S. sanctions and European and G7 warnings

In related developments on Thursday, the U.S. announced new sanctions on Iranian officials accused of suppressing the protests. The Group of Seven and the European Union also said they were looking at new sanctions to ratchet up pressure on Iran’s theocratic government.

Among those hit with U.S. sanctions was the secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council for National Security, which the AP said the Treasury Department accused of being one of the first officials to call for violence against protesters.

The AP reported that the Group of Seven warned it could impose more sanctions if Iran’s crackdown continues. European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc was looking at strengthening sanctions “to push forward that this regime comes to an end and that there is change.”