Iran asks UN to act on Donald Trump’s ‘reckless’ threats amid protests

Under the shadow of swelling street protests and sharpening rhetoric, Iran has turned to the United Nations, warning that what it calls Washington’s “reckless and provocative” threats risk pushing the region toward dangerous escalation.

In a sharply worded letter, Iran’s UN ambassador Amir Saeed Iravani appealed to secretary-general Antonio Guterres and the president of the UN Security Council to publicly condemn what he described as “unlawful threats” issued by US President Donald Trump, the Al Jazeera reported.

The appeal came only hours after Trump declared that the United States was “locked and loaded and ready to go” should more protesters be killed during the ongoing demonstrations across Iran.

Iravani urged the UN to “unequivocally and firmly condemn” Trump’s remarks, arguing they constituted a grave breach of the UN Charter and international law. Any attempt, he warned, to inflame internal unrest or use it as justification for external pressure or military action amounted to a “gross violation” of Iran’s sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity.

The letter, published in full by state news agency IRNA, reaffirmed Tehran’s stance that it retains an “inherent right” to defend itself and would exercise that right “in a decisive and proportionate manner” if threatened. Responsibility for any fallout, Iravani cautioned, would lie squarely with the United States.

Even as diplomatic exchanges grew more heated, unrest continued to ripple through Iranian cities. Demonstrations were reported in Qom, Marvdasht, Yasuj, Mashhad and Hamedan, as well as in Tehran neighbourhoods such as Tehranpars and Khak Sefid. The protests were sparked by a strike by shopkeepers in the capital over soaring prices and prolonged economic stagnation, grievances that have since spread nationwide.

At least nine people have been killed and dozens arrested in the unrest. Authorities in Qom said another individual died after a grenade exploded in his hand, an incident officials described as an attempt to incite further violence.

Trump, posting on Truth Social, warned that if Iran “violently kills peaceful protesters,” the US would “come to their rescue,” a statement that drew swift condemnation in Tehran. Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, retorted that American interference would spell chaos for the entire region and imperil US interests.

Iran’s economic distress — marked by a collapsing currency, stubbornly high inflation and years of severe drought in Tehran — has deepened public frustration. Yet the political response from Tehran has been notably restrained. President Masoud Pezeshkian has acknowledged government “fault” in the crisis and promised reforms, a conciliatory tone that observers say contrasts sharply with the iron-fisted reactions to earlier waves of protest.

The standoff unfolds against the backdrop of recent hostilities: the US bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites in June during a brief but intense escalation involving Israel, an operation Trump later hailed as “very successful.” Last week, standing beside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump renewed his warnings, vowing to “knock the hell out” of Iran if it advances its nuclear or ballistic weapons programmes.

Pezeshkian, for his part, has pledged a “severe” response to any act of aggression — a reminder that beneath the diplomatic flourishes, the region remains poised on a knife’s edge.