NEW YORK, January 15, 2026
UN Warns Iran Protests Remain ‘Deeply Concerning’ Amidst Calls for Restraint
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The United nations is urging de-escalation in Iran as protests continue following a dramatic collapse of the national currency and rising inflation, with officials fearing potential military intervention.
- Assistant Secretary-General Martha Pobee briefed the Security Council on the escalating situation in Iran.
- The UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized diplomacy as the best path forward.
- Protests began on December 28 in tehran and have spread nationwide, mirroring demonstrations from 2022.
- The U.S.warned of wider repercussions if the Iranian regime continues its violent crackdown on citizens.
The situation in Iran is “fluid and deeply concerning,” Assistant Secretary-General Martha Pobee told an emergency meeting of the Security Council in New York on Tuesday. while protests continue, they are reportedly smaller in scale than last week, she noted.
against External Military Intervention
Pobee voiced alarm over the near-total communications blackout that remains largely in place. Hundreds, and potentially thousands, of protestors and bystanders have been killed, and over 18,000 people are estimated too be detained, though the UN has not been able to independently verify these figures.
Government Blames ‘Terrorists’ and ‘Rioters’
“The Government of Iran has stated that it was compelled to act after what it deemed ‘organized terrorists’ and ‘rioters’ infiltrated the protests and opened fire on both security forces and demonstrators, aiming to provoke foreign military intervention,” Pobee said. “It has also blamed these elements for the killing of hundreds of civilians and members of the security forces.”
The UN Secretary-General has expressed deep concern over the reported excessive use of force by authorities and reaffirmed the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.
Civil Society Voices Concerns
Iranian journalist and political dissident Masih Alinejad was one of two civil society representatives who briefed the Council. “What is needed now to bring justice to those who order massacres in Iran is real and concrete action,” she said.
Iranian-American human rights activist and journalist Ahmad Batebi shared his experience of being arrested while a student for protesting and sentenced to death. He recounted being held in solitary confinement for two years, tortured, and forced to confess to being a paid American spy.
U.S. Warns of Regional Instability
U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz stated that “the level of violence, the level of repression that the Iranian regime has unleashed on its own citizens…has repercussions for international peace and security.” He emphasized that the Iranian people “are demanding their freedom like never before in the Islamic Republic’s brutal history,” and affirmed that the United States “stands by the brave people of Iran.”
Waltz stressed that “the regime is solely responsible for the economic misery of the Iranian people and the repression of their freedom” and will be held accountable.
Iran Accuses U.S. of Steering Unrest
Iran’s Deputy Permanent Representative Gholamhossein Darzi began his remarks by denouncing the two civil society briefers, claiming they “represent the political agenda of the United States and Israeli regimes.”
He stated that he was speaking on behalf of a “nation in mourning,” and added, “It is indeed deeply regrettable that the representative of the United States regime, which requested this meeting, has today resorted to lies, distortions of facts and deliberate disinformation to conceal his country’s direct involvement in steering unrest in Iran towards violence.”
