Iran says Israel, US legally responsible for deaths of protesters

Iranian ambassador calls on the United Nations to pressure US, Israel to stop supporting anti-regime protests, says both countries are responsible for the deaths of “innocent civilians” killed in protests.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

Iran on Tuesday blamed Israel and the United States for the deaths of thousands of Iranian protesters killed by the regime during anti-government protests and called on the United Nations to pressure Washington and Jerusalem to back off from supporting the ongoing unrest in Iran.

In a letter to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UN Security Council President Abukar Dahir Osman, Iranian Ambassador to the UN Amir Saeid Iravani accused the US and Israel of being directly and legally responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iranians at recent anti-regime protests.

“The United States and the Israeli regime bear direct and undeniable legal responsibility for the resulting loss of innocent civilian lives, particularly among the youth,” Iravani wrote.

Iravani went on to demand that the UN Security Council intervene on Iran’s behalf, accusing the US and Israel of “incitement to violence.”

“The Islamic Republic of Iran urgently calls upon the secretary-general, the Security Council, and, in particular, its responsible members to fulfill their Charter-based responsibilities by unequivocally condemning all forms of incitement to violence, threats to use force, and interference in Iran’s internal affairs by the United States.”

The UN, the letter continued, must “urge the US and the Israeli regime to immediately cease destabilizing policies and practices and to comply fully with their obligations under international law; and warn the US against any possible miscalculations to conduct any acts of military aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Iran’s envoy to the UN argued that a call earlier Tuesday by the US State Department for American citizens to evacuate Iran promoted violence.

“This reckless statement explicitly encourages political destabilization, incites and invites violence, and threatens the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Iravani’s letter is not the first time Iran has blamed Israel and the US for deaths during anti-government protests.

On Monday, the Iranian mission to the United Nations in Geneva posted a message to its X account claiming that the deaths during recent demonstrations were caused by protesters working in tandem with Israel and the US.

“Today, the flag of I.R. of #Iran flying at half-mast, in mourning of our innocent compatriots who were martyred during terrorist riots with #ISIS-like brutality, perpetrated by the #UnitedStates and #Israeli regime.”

On Tuesday, the Human Rights Activists News Agency said it had identified 2,403 protesters killed by pro-regime forces since the demonstrations began in late December.

However, some reports place the total death toll at anywhere between 12,000 and 20,000.

According to witnesses and footage from Iran, many of the casualties were protesters shot dead by members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Basij militia.