NEW YORK: The US reaffirmed its commitment to protect its regional allies on Saturday, defending military strikes on Iran as necessary to neutralize threats and uphold global security.
“Our allies and partners can count on the United States and can count on President (Donald) Trump,” said Mike Waltz, US representative to the UN.
“Peace is not preserved by appeasing those who threaten it. Peace is preserved through strength in the face of terror.”
Speaking at an emergency UN Security Council session, Waltz said Operation Epic Fury targeted specific missile capabilities, naval assets destabilizing international waters, and the networks that arm proxy militias.
“Indiscriminate and unprovoked attacks by the Iranian regime today against our regional partners — Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan and others — reinforce precisely why such actions are necessary,” he said, adding that the Iranian strikes hit not only military targets but also civilian infrastructure.
“Those who stand with us must know that their security is not negotiable. The safety of our allies is not conditional. It is assured,” he said.
Waltz emphasized the purpose of the US operation: “These actions ensure the Iranian regime never, ever can threaten the world with a nuclear weapon.”
He accused Iran of decades of destabilizing activity, including killing US forces, threatening regional allies and jeopardizing international shipping.
“This is not speculation. We know this to be true, and our men and women have paid for the actions of this regime and the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) with their lives,” Waltz said.
He highlighted Iran’s support for armed proxies such as the Houthis, Hezbollah and Hamas, which he said has brought “bloodshed and disorder across the Middle East for far too long.”
Waltz emphasized that Iran’s ongoing pursuit of advanced missile technology and nuclear ambitions pose a “grave and mounting danger,” and said the international community has repeatedly affirmed that “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. That principle is not a matter of politics. It’s a matter of global security.”
He outlined UNSC resolutions over the past two decades that imposed sanctions, arms embargoes and asset freezes on Iran for nuclear and missile activities.
Despite these measures, Iran remained defiant, prompting the council to restore sanctions last September, Waltz said.
He stressed that US military action was paired with sustained diplomatic efforts. “President Trump, Secretary (of State Marco) Rubio, our special envoys … were relentlessly dedicated to diplomacy, but diplomacy cannot succeed where there is no genuine willingness to cease aggression,” he added.
Walt concluded with a direct appeal to the UNSC: “History has taught us that the cost of inaction is far greater than the burden of decisive action, and … President Trump has taken that decisive action today.”
