“Despite the diplomatic achievements and agreements, Iran still hasn’t shown the world a basic level of decency and respect,” said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz. “Instead, they openly defied this [Security] Council, their neighbors, and basic tenets of diplomacy.”
“Members of this Council told Iran: stop the attacks, open the Strait [of Hormuz]. Iran’s neighbors respectfully asked Iran: stop the violence, open the Strait. Even their closest partners told them privately: stop the mining, stop the tolling, and open the Strait,” recalled Ambassador Waltz.
Several weeks ago, the United States signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Iran. It’s most basic premise: the Straits, an international waterway, must be open, attacks on civilian shipping must stop.
Iran chose to ignore that and recently fired missiles and drones at civilian infrastructure in Bahrain and Kuwait. They also fired at commercial vessels transiting Omani territories.
After 136 countries told Iran to stop, Iran fired again after its neighbors pleaded for de-escalation. Iran fired again after the United States sat down for weeks and pursued diplomacy at the highest levels. Vice President of the United States JD Vance signed a Memorandum of Understanding. Iran fired again. And after the Iranian people dared to speak out for a new Iran, the regime battered its own people, and they continue to spend millions of dollars on internet suppression.
Moreover, executions in Iran have surged. Javad Zamani, Abolfazl Saedi, two students, were recently executed in Iran. Their case was rammed through a revolutionary court with no representation; their crime was “waging war against God.”
In response to the massive street protests across Iran in late 2025 and early 2026, the regime rounded up some 40,000 people, including human rights defenders, lawyers, medical workers, students and even children, according to reports. Thousands more are believed to have been arrested since the war began.
Many are being held in secret detention facilities run by security and intelligence bodies, where they are being tortured into confessions. They have no counsel, and in some cases, are being publicly hanged to send a message.
The United States urges “Iran to revert to the path of peace and dialogue. The world is not with Iran,” declared Ambassador Waltz. “Iran’s own people are not with this regime; its neighbors are not with this regime.”
There is an opportunity for transformation for the nation of Iran and its people, but they don’t have unlimited time. As President Donald Trump said, “"We're either going to make a deal, or we're going to finish the job. It won't be tough to finish the job."