U.N. Security Council discusses Iran’s deadly protests after U.S. request

The United Nations Security Council in an emergency meeting on Thursday (January 15, 2026) discussed Iran’s deadly protests at the request of the United States, even as President Donald Trump left unclear what actions he would take against the Islamic Republic. Tehran appeared to make conciliatory statements in the lead up to the meeting in an effort to defuse the situation after Mr. Trump threatened to take action to stop further killing of protesters, including the execution of anyone detained in Tehran's bloody crackdown on nationwide protests. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said before the meeting, “All options remain on the table for the President.” The sound of gunfire faded Thursday (January 15, 2026) in the capital, Tehran. The country closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation early Thursday and some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait also ordered its personnel to “temporary halt” travel to the multiple military bases in the small Gulf Arab country. U.N. urges dialogue, warns against possible military strikes on Iran The United Nations warns possible military strikes on Iran would add “volatility to an already combustible situation” in an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Thursday (January 15, 2026). U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres “urges maximum restraint at this sensitive moment and calls on all actors to refrain from any actions that could lead to further loss of life or ignite a wider regional escalation,” Assistant Secretary-General Martha Pobee said at the meeting. Mr. Guterres urges maximum restraint and remains convinced that all issues regarding Iran, including its nuclear program, should be addressed through diplomacy and dialogue, she said. The U.N. chief reaffirms the U.N. Charter’s principles that disputes must be settled peacefully and prohibit the threat or use of force, Pobee said. Iranian dissident accuses U.N. of failing to adequately respond Masih Alinejad, one of the most vocal Iranian dissidents in the U.S., accused the United Nations and the Security Council of failing “to respond with the urgency this moment demands” at the emergency U.N. Security Council meeting on Thursday (January 15, 2026). In October, two purported Russian mobsters were each sentenced to 25 years behind bars for hiring a hitman to kill Alinejad at her Brooklyn home on behalf of the Iranian government. Sitting across the table from the Iranian ambassador to the U.N., Mr. Alinejad, who came after an invitation from the U.S., said that “the members of this body have forgotten the privilege and responsibility of sitting in this room.” Ahead of the emergency U.N. Security Council meeting Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Secretary-General António Guterres spoke by phone to discuss the recent deadly protests and Iran’s request for the world body to do more to condemn what they call foreign influence in the Islamic Republic, according to a readout of the call posted on Iranian state TV. Published - January 16, 2026 08:39 am IST

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