Danny Danon

Address to the UN Security Council on Israel's Targeted Preemptive Military Strikes in Iran

delivered 14 June 2025, UN Headquarters, New York, NY

[AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED: Text version below transcribed directly from audio]

Madam President,

First I would like to thank USG [Under-Secretary-General] DiCarlo, and [IAEA] Director General Grossi.

Madam President,

Israel has acted to prevent its destruction, and the world now stands at a crossroad between denial and clarity. This is not only [a] defining moment for Israel; it's a defining moment for the global security order and for the credibility of the international system.

As we speak, hundreds of ballistic missiles with conventional payloads are striking Israel's cities, neighborhoods, communities. They are striking population centers, not military bases, not air force bases, cities. Dozens are injured, two of them in a critical condition, and we are still following the news.

Now, take a moment and imagine if today that radical regime had nuclear warheads for those missiles.

Last night, the State of Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a preemptive military operation carried out with precision, purpose, and the most advanced intelligence at our disposal. The mission was very clear: dismantle Iran's nuclear program, eliminate the architects of -- of its terror and aggression, and neutralize the regime's ability to follow through on its repeated public promise to destroy the State of Israel.

For years, Iran has declared its intent. Its leaders have spoken without hesitation. Less than a month ago, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei called [Israel] a, quote, "cancerous tumor that must be eradicated.["] IRGC [Islamic/Iranian Republican Guard Corps] commanders have vowed to quote, "open the gates of hell on Israel.["]

This is a picture of the main square in Tehran. The streets of Tehran display a countdown clock. At the time of the photo -- you can see it in Arabic -- it was at 8,411 days. It is tracking the regime's planned timeline for Israel's destruction, paid by the government, putting it in the main squares in Tehran. These threats have been main -- have been made on a near daily basis. Never again will we dismiss such threats.

For too long, the world convinced itself that these were just words, that genocidal slogans and threats to erase us could be ignored or rationalized. But Israel has never had that luxury. We know our enemies. We know their ideology. And when a regime builds ballistic missiles, enriches uranium to near weapons-grade, and openly declares its intent to destroy us, we believe them. We take them at their word -- and we take action before it is too late.

Colleagues, Israel did not act recklessly. We waited.

We waited while Iran enriched uranium to 60 percent, a level with no civilian justification, and a level that brings the regime within days of a nuclear breakout.

We waited while the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] reported that Iran had obstructed inspectors, destroyed monitoring equipment, and accelerated its covert special development program.

We waited while Iran developed trigger mechanisms, detonation systems, and plans for warheads.

We waited while its leadership actively recruited more nuclear scientists.

We waited while Iran constructed a ballistic missile industry so large and sophisticated -- and we can expose it now -- that it was intended to challenge even the U.S. and Russia in ballistic missile capabilities. They cannot deny it.

We waited for diplomacy to work. We gave the international community time. We watched negotiations stretched on as Iran made false concessions or refused the most fundamental conditions. All the while, Iran continued to build toward the unthinkable.

Last night, the wait ended.

Our operation targeted three layers of the threat.

First, we eliminated the central figures of Iran's military and nuclear command. This included Muhammad Hussein Bagheri, chief of the armed forces; Hossein Salami, commander of the IRGC terror organization; and Gholam Ali Rashid, commander of emergency command [Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters]. These men directed Iran's conventional military forces and terror forces. They coordinated the terror network that has plagued our region for decades. Think how many meetings you had here about the proxies of Iran in Yemen, in Lebanon, in Syria, in Gaza.

Second, we struck Iran's military infrastructure, specifically the surface-to-surface missile array. Israeli Air Force fighter jets, guided by precise intelligence, completed a series of strikes against the Iranian regime's missile capabilities. Dozens of launchers, missile storage facilities, and additional military sites were destroyed. Late last year, Iran launched wave after wave of ballistic missiles at our cities. They deliberately targeted civilians.

The destruction of these missile systems is a moral imperative. These are weapons with the capacity to reach thousands of kilometers, leaving them in the hands of a radical regime, one that openly dreamed of wiping our nation off the map -- was not an option [sic]. We will not hesitate. We will not relent. And we will not allow a genocidal regime to endanger our people.

Third, we struck the core of the nuclear program, the underground enrichment facilities at Natanz. This facility was operating at a military-grade capacity. Intelligence confirmed that, within days, Iran could have produced enough material for multiple bombs. We targeted the heart of that effort.

Madam President,

This operation was carried out because the alternative was unthinkable. How long did the world expect us to wait? How long? Let's...think about it. Until they assembled the bomb? Until they mounted it on a Shahab missile? Until it was enroute to Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, like the more than 100 missile[s] that they sent an hour ago?

How long should we wait?

And if anyone in this chamber still believes Iran would never use such a weapon, I invite you to remember October 7. On that day, we saw what Iran's proxy Hamas was capable of. And -- And then in Gaza, they did it with -- with Kalashnikovs, with grenades. They butchered families. They burned children alive. They mutilated women. Imagine what the head of the snake would do with a nuclear warhead.

To that end, we uncovered intelligence revealing a multi-front plan directed by Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas for a future assault on Israel. This one would be far more sophisticated than October 7. It envisioned mass missile launches, first from Iran, then from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, followed by coordinated infiltrations of our borders. The plan was not aspirational. It was operational. And it was nearing execution.

This Council has convened countless time[s] in recent months. You have passed resolutions, called for restraint, demanded ceasefire. You met in emergency sessions when Hamas was under threat. But when Iran marched toward nuclear capability, you said nothing. When they crossed line after line, you drew none of your own -- so we acted.

We acted to ensure our people live.

We acted so that Jewish children in Jerusalem will not wake up to the sound of air-raid sirens triggered by a nuclear launch.

We acted so that Iranian missiles will not carry radioactive payloads into civilian neighborhoods.

We acted because history has taught us that silence is complicity and hesitation is fatal.

We acted because 80 years ago the Jewish people made a promise to ourselves: Never again. That promise applies to a nuclear holocaust as well. This was an act of national preservation. It was one we undertook alone, not because we wanted to, but because we were left no other option.

We now turn to this Council, not for permission, but for recognition: recognition that Israel did what the world should have done; recognition that the Iranian regime violated every obligation they ever undertook; recognition that Israel had the undeniable right and duty to defend its people from extermination.

We urge the Council to condemn Iran's nuclear violations.

We urge the Council to finally acknowledge the existential threat Iran poses to the world.

We urge the Council to join us in our commitment to prevent their genocidal dreams from becoming a reality.

But we also expect something even more basic: moral clarity. Stop equating aggressors with defenders. Stop treating a genocidal regime and a democracy under siege as two side[s] of the same coin.

The Iranian regime was preparing for war. This war would have stretched across the Middle East, to Europe, to Asia, to the Americas. It would have been against the international order. We acted to prevent a threat that would endanger not only Israel, but the entire world.

We will not sit quietly while our people are targeted.

Not again.

Not ever.

Empty words will not stop Iran. Israel will.

We did not wait for the bomb to fall, and we will never allow that day to come.

Thank you.

Page Created: 6/18/25

U.S. Copyright Status: Text = Uncertain. Image = Fair Use.