The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting in New York to discuss the critical escalation of tensions and threats to shipping in the Persian Gulf, UN News reported.
The meeting was called at the explicit request of Bahrain after a series of Iranian air strikes on infrastructure in the kingdom and neighboring Kuwait.
UN Assistant Secretary-General Elizabeth Spehar reported to the 15-member council that the situation in the region is deteriorating rapidly. She said, "Every new strike, every interception and every maritime incident increases the risk of miscalculations," which could have catastrophic consequences for world peace.
Tensions flared up again after a brief lull brokered by the US and Iran on June 17.
Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani told diplomats that his country had suffered a total of 808 air strikes (203 ballistic missiles and 605 drones) since the end of February. He strongly rejected Iran's claims that only military targets were being attacked, citing strikes on residential areas. The representative of Kuwait supported the position and condemned the Iranian model of aggression.
The US Permanent Representative to the UN Michael Walz issued a sharp warning to Tehran:
“President Donald Trump's patience is not unlimited. Iran cannot — and we will not allow it — to hold the global economy hostage by blocking shipping in the Strait of Hormuz“.
For his part, the Permanent Representative of Iran, Amir Saeed Iravani, accused Western countries of hypocrisy and applying “double standards“. He stressed that the priority for Tehran remains the implementation of the interim agreement with the US, but called on the Security Council to refrain from provocative measures that would derail the ongoing indirect diplomatic talks in Doha.