Mike Waltz Blasts Iran’s U.N. Envoy During Explosive Security Council Clash

America’s top diplomat at the United Nations delivered a blistering rebuke to Iran’s envoy Thursday, accusing Tehran of trying to bully the Security Council into silence after the Iranian diplomat dismissed an emergency meeting on the Gulf crisis as unnecessary.

“This is not Tehran,” U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz fired back after Iranian envoy Amir Saeid Iravani accused the United States and other council members of spreading “lies.”

“This is the United States of America. This is the United Nations Security Council. You will not silence this body.”

Waltz’s confrontation came after Iravani argued the Security Council should not even be holding the emergency session and insisted Iran’s military actions were purely defensive responses to U.S. operations in the region.

The former Green Beret and decorated Army combat veteran wasn’t finished.

Holding up images of civilians and damaged buildings, Waltz challenged the Iranian envoy to explain away the destruction.

“Who here is lying?” Waltz demanded. “Is this Arab family in Bahrain whose home was destroyed by an Iranian Shahed drone lying? Is the Crowne Plaza Hotel full of tourists lying? Are the first responders whose headquarters were struck lying? Are these photographs lies? I’d say not.”

The explosive exchange followed sobering testimony from Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, who told the council his country has been hit by more than 800 Iranian missile and drone attacks since late February.

According to Bahrain, the barrage included 203 ballistic missiles and more than 600 armed drones, killing three civilians, injuring 465 people and striking homes, hospitals, hotels and other civilian infrastructure.

Al Zayani also warned that one Iranian strike narrowly missed triggering a toxic gas disaster after hitting an ammonia storage tank.

Earlier in the session, Waltz warned that President Donald Trump remains committed to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon while accusing Tehran of using the Strait of Hormuz as leverage against the global economy.

“Iran cannot, and we cannot allow it to, hold the world’s economy hostage,” Waltz said, arguing that Tehran still has an opportunity to choose diplomacy over continued aggression.

Watch the clip below:

Iran will not silence us on our own soil.

That might work in Tehran, but not in the UN Security Council.

We will tell the truth. pic.twitter.com/AwzEbdETzn

— Ambassador Mike Waltz (@USAmbUN) July 2, 2026