Iran claims Israel a ‘threat to international peace,’ warns of further attacks

As the international community awaits Israel’s response to the recent Iranian missile attack, the Iranian regime on Thursday attempted to secure international backing for its hardline policies against Israel.

In his address to the UN Security Council on Thursday, Amir-Saeed Iravan claimed that the State of Israel is “now a serious threat to international peace." In a post on 𝕏, the Iranian UN envoy further “underscored the need for collective diplomatic efforts to halt the Zionist regime’s aggressions and crimes.”

On Oct. 1, Iran launched a direct attack from its territory on Israel, involving some 180 ballistic missiles. The aggression came in response to Israel having delivered severe military blows to Iran’s primary terror proxy group in Lebanon, Hezbollah.

The IDF and American aerial defenses neutralized the majority of the incoming missiles, however, some penetrated Israel’s aerial defenses, wounding Israelis and causing material damage. It was the second such attack from Iranian territory since April.

Iravan further threatened that Tehran would respond harshly to any Israeli military response to the October attack.

“Islamic Republic of Iran is fully prepared to take stronger defensive actions, if necessary, in response to any further aggression, and will not hesitate to do so,” Iravan warned.

Israel has vowed to respond to the Iranian attack and is reportedly discussing the issue with the Biden administration.

The United States strongly condemned the Iranian attack on Israel and has backed Jerusalem’s right to defend itself against such aggression. In addition, the Biden administration announced on Friday that it would expand its sanctions against Tehran’s oil and petrochemical industries, which are crucial sectors in the Iranian economy.

“This action intensifies financial pressure on Iran, limiting the regime’s ability to earn critical energy revenues to undermine stability in the region and attack US partners and allies,” the U.S. Treasury Department stated.

The Pentagon announced that U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin “made clear that the United States is well postured to defend US personnel, partners, and allies against attacks from Iran and Iranian-backed partners and proxies.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s ally Russia has been consistently critical of Israel’s defensive military operations against the Iranian-led terrorist proxies since the Hamas Oct. 7 massacre in 2023.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday, expressed the two nations' shared interests.

“We actively work together in the international arena, and our assessments of current events in the world are often very close,” Putin stated.

Pezeshkian added: “Our positions in the world are much closer to each other than to others.”

Iran has become a major developer of drones, delivering UAVs to the Russian military to use in its war against Ukraine. Russia for its part has delivered aerial defense systems to Iran, which the regime has deployed next to some of its strategic nuclear sites. In addition, Russia and Iran are reportedly discussing a potential delivery of advanced Russian fighter jets to the Iranian Air Force.