Iran urges UN to take urgent action after death of Supreme Leader

Following the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General and Security Council Chair, urging immediate attention to the incident and warning of severe consequences for the international legal order if decisive action is not taken.

According to Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the communication alleges that on February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel carried out a deliberate strike against Iran’s highest official, a UN member state representative. Tehran described these acts as “part of a series of aggressive steps against the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

“This cowardly terrorist act, committed in gross violation of Article 2, Paragraph 4 of the United Nations Charter, constitutes a direct assault on fundamental principles of international law, including the prohibition on the use of force, the sovereign equality of states, and the inviolability and immunity of heads of state. Such an action sets a dangerous and unprecedented precedent, undermining core norms of state sovereignty and civilised conduct among nations. 

Moreover, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, is not only the country’s highest state official but also a religious figure respected by tens of millions of Muslims in the region and worldwide. This attack will have deep and wide-ranging consequences, for which full responsibility rests solely with its perpetrators,” the letter read.

Tehran also reaffirmed its inherent right to defend its sovereignty and people under Article 51 of the UN Charter. 

Araghchi emphasised that the act “was carried out in flagrant disregard of binding norms of international law and customary international law, including the 1973 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Persons under International Protection. This act triggers international legal responsibility for the offending states, as well as individual criminal responsibility for the US President, the so-called Israeli Prime Minister, and all individuals involved in planning, ordering, authorising, executing, or otherwise facilitating this criminal act.”

Finally, Iran called on the UN Secretary-General and Security Council to fulfil their Charter obligations to maintain international peace and security by taking urgent, concrete, and effective measures, and requested that the letter be circulated as an official Security Council document.

By Jeyhun Aghazada