Iranian Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Gholamhossein Darzi made the remarks in a letter sent to the UN chief and the Security Council president on Saturday, three days after NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte acknowledged that some 5,000 sorties were flown from European bases in support of the terrorist military assault against Iran.
Darzi said that he was writing to draw the UN’s attention to Rutte’s “deeply disturbing and consequential admission” to the extensive use of European military bases in the course of the war against Iran.
“This statement is not a minor or incidental disclosure. It is a public admission by the head of NATO on the indispensable role played by European territory and infrastructure in facilitating the acts of aggression …, and clearly establishes … international responsibility, as well as the individual criminal responsibility of European officials involved in the planning, preparation, facilitation, or execution of acts amounting to aggression and war crimes committed by the United States and the Israeli regime in Iran,” he added.
“This acknowledgment is particularly significant given that ample evidence had already emerged concerning the complicity of certain European states in the aforementioned violations, as well as in those committed against the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2025. The statement therefore warrants the immediate and serious attention of the Security Council, should the council eventually decide to opt for exercising its responsibility in terms of peace and security.”
The US and the Israeli regime waged their first war against Iran, which lasted 12 days, in June 2025. Their second aggression began on February 28, 2026, and came to a halt in early April after 40 days.
In both wars, Iran’s resistance and successful retaliatory operations forced the aggressors to accept a ceasefire.
The Iranian envoy said that more than 3,600 people were killed during the 40-day US-Israeli aggression, which violated Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and targeted civilians and civilian objects in clear disregard for the principles of international humanitarian law.
He also noted that certain European states have knowingly facilitated the unlawful acts against Iran by placing their territory, airspace, military facilities, and other logistical and operational capabilities at the disposal of the aggressors.
“Such conduct, in itself, constitutes a violation of the Charter of the United Nations. Furthermore, such actions constitute participation in and assistance to an act of aggression within the meaning of General Assembly resolution 3314 (XXIX), entitled ‘Definition of Aggression,’” he said.
“Accordingly, the states concerned bear international responsibility for their internationally wrongful acts, including their participation in and assistance to acts of aggression, and remain under an obligation to make full reparation for all injury, including material and moral damage, caused to the Islamic Republic of Iran, its nationals, and its civilian and public infrastructure as a consequence of those wrongful acts.”
Meanwhile, Darzi emphasized that the UN Security Council cannot remain silent, urging member states to treat the admission “with the seriousness it warrants” and reject any attempt to normalize the participation of third states in acts of aggression.
He further called on the United Nations to take concrete measures in order to ensure that the NATO chief, as well as European officials, would be held accountable for their internationally wrongful acts against the Islamic Republic.