In a heated exchange at the United Nations Security Council this week, U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz staunchly criticized Iran’s attempt to dismiss serious accusations. The Iranian representative faced Waltz’s rebuke following claims that council members had propagated misinformation regarding Iran’s recent assaults on neighboring Gulf countries.
Standing firm, Waltz turned to Iranian diplomat Amir Saeid Iravani, asserting, “Let me remind you where you are. This is the United States of America. This is the United Nations Security Council. You will not silence this body.”
The confrontational meeting arose in the wake of drone and missile strikes on Bahrain and Kuwait, incidents that were directly linked to Iran. These attacks were perceived to be in retaliation for the latest U.S. airstrikes against the nation, prompting urgent discussion among Security Council leaders.
Amidst the tension, Waltz presented visual evidence to support the claims against Iran, showing images purportedly displaying the aftermath of the strikes on Bahrain and Kuwait. (U.N. Security Council)
Countering Waltz’s accusations, Iravani dismissed the need for the council’s emergency assembly, accusing the U.S., Bahrain, and other member nations of fabricating allegations for political gain.
“Once again, the representative of the United States has resorted to lies and disinformation against Iran in a desperate attempt to justify the US’s unlawful acts of aggression,” Iravani said.
He also rejected the “unfounded accusations made by certain Western members of the Council and the representative of Bahrain.”
Ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani of Iran speaks during a Security Council meeting after members voted on draft resolution on reopening of Strait of Hormuz at U.N. Headquarters. (Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“Instead of addressing the root cause of the current crisis, they have ignored the unlawful aggression committed against Iran and sought to shift blame onto the victim,” he added. “Their double standards and hypocritical behavior have deprived them of any credibility to lecture others.”
In a post on X, Waltz reiterated his position.
“Iran will not silence us on our own soil,” he wrote. “That might work in Tehran, but not in the UN Security Council. We will tell the truth.”
Firefighters work to extinguish fire in the aftermath of Iranian drone attacks, according to Bahrain’s Interior Ministry, at a location given as Bahrain, in this handout image released on June 11, 2026. (Ministry of Interior of the Kingdom of Bahrain/Handout via Reuters)
During the exchange, Waltz held up what he said were images of the aftermath of the Iranian attacks, including a family whose home in Bahrain was destroyed by a Shahed drone, a hotel full of tourists that was also hit and a building used by first responders that Waltz said was deliberately targeted.
“Are they lying?” Waltz said of the victims of the attack. “Is this hypocrisy? Is this what this council is here to denounce today? I ask the representative, are these lies? … I’d say not.”
Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Bahrain’s minister of foreign affairs, said that, since Feb. 28, the island nation has been subjected to 808 attacks comprising 203 ballistic missiles and 605 armed drones.
“These attacks deliberately targeted civilian facilities, critical infrastructure and residential areas, resulting in the deaths of three innocent civilians and injuries to 465 others,” he said, disputing Tehran’s claim that its aggression is directed solely against military objectives.
Washington and Tehran have repeatedly accused each other of violating a fragile ceasefire agreement. On June 27, President Donald Trump said U.S. forces struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites after Iran violated the deal.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz speaks after the United Nations Security Council voted on a resolution calling for the unblocking of the Strait of Hormuz during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Iran and the Middle East at U.N. headquarters in New York April 7, 2026. (AFP via Getty Images)
The exchanges of fire began when an Iranian drone struck a merchant vessel off Oman last week and the U.S. military retaliated, officials said.
“It is very possible that they will never learn! There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!”