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Türkiye’s ambassador to the United Nations called Friday for global unity in urging Israel to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and accept full verification by the International Atomic Energy Agency amid its ongoing strikes on Iran.
“Türkiye condemns, in the strongest terms, the recent attacks conducted by Israel against Iran,” Ambassador Ahmet Yildiz told an emergency U.N. Security Council session on Iran, describing the strikes as “a manifest violation of the U.N. Charter.”
Yildiz warned that a broader regional conflict would increase the risk of nuclear or radiological fallout and mass displacement. He also cautioned it would disrupt global trade and transportation routes and threaten energy security during a period of heightened volatility.
He criticized Israel’s “deliberate strikes against safeguarded nuclear facilities in Iran” as “unprecedented” and said they violate international law and International Atomic Energy Agency agreements.
“The IAEA’s verification activities inside Iran have already been impeded,” he said.
Yildiz called it “deeply troubling that a non-NPT state, which maintains deliberate opacity regarding its own nuclear capabilities, is attacking the nuclear infrastructure of an NPT state under safeguards.”
“This recklessness strikes at the heart of the global non-proliferation regime, compelling all of us to reflect upon its wider repercussions,” he said.
He urged the international community to unite in demanding that Israel accede to the treaty as a non-nuclear-weapon state and accept robust IAEA verification.
Reiterating Türkiye’s commitment to diplomacy, Yildiz said, “We continue to believe that diplomacy is the sole sensible path forward.”
He also stressed the Gaza Strip crisis must not be overlooked, warning: “Israel’s assault on Iran cannot obscure the ongoing crimes being committed against the Palestinian people.”
“Imposing peace is no longer a mere option; it is an imperative to preserve the credibility of the U.N. system and to safeguard international law,” he said.
Hostilities began June 13 when Israel launched airstrikes on multiple sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting retaliatory strikes by Tehran.
Israeli officials say at least 25 people have been killed and hundreds injured in Iranian missile attacks. Iranian media report 639 people killed and more than 1,300 wounded in the Israeli assault.
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