UN Security Council hears Israel and Iran clash over recent nuclear strikes, with both sides presenting sharply opposing views amid growing regional tensions.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, said the strikes were aimed at underground enrichment sites at Natanz, claiming the facility was operating at a level that could soon produce material for multiple nuclear weapons. Danon said the decision followed extended diplomatic efforts and warnings.

“We waited for diplomacy to work… Last night the wait ended,” Danon told the Council. He added that Israel’s actions were a matter of national preservation taken after what he described as years of Iranian non-compliance.

A U.S. official, McCoy Pitt, confirmed that Washington had been informed in advance but did not participate militarily. “Every sovereign nation has the right to defend itself and Israel is no exception,” he said. Pitt added that the U.S. remains focused on protecting its citizens and personnel in the region.

Iran’s ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, called the strikes a “declaration of war” and said Iran would exercise its right to self-defense under the UN Charter. He emphasized that Iran’s response would be “lawful, proportionate and determined.”

Iran also reported damage at the Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan nuclear sites and said some of its military personnel were killed. The UN nuclear watchdog confirmed that a pilot enrichment plant at Natanz was destroyed.

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