GENEVA - For the first time since the launch of the campaign against Iran, the World Jewish Congress addressed the United Nations in Geneva, declaring: “Iran has brought this moment upon itself — there must be accountability now.”
Speaking during the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council, Dr. Leon Saltiel, the World Jewish Congress (WJC) Representative to the UN in Geneva, delivered a statement on behalf of Jewish communities in more than 100 countries. It marked the first address by a Jewish organization at the UN since the campaign against Iran began.
In his remarks, Dr. Saltiel stated:
“We address this Council at a moment of historic consequence, bound as we are by a long and intertwined history with the Iranian people — yet facing a regime that for more than four decades has consolidated power through domestic repression and external aggression.”
He noted that the Islamic Republic of Iran has “violently crushed civil protests, persecuted women and minorities, and silenced those demanding nothing more than fundamental freedoms.”
The statement further underscored that the regime “institutionalizes and exports antisemitism, arms proxy militias, was involved in the October 7 terrorist attacks against Israel, and has endangered Jewish communities worldwide.”
It also warned that Iran’s nuclear and missile programs “threaten Israel and destabilize the entire region.”
Addressing the current military escalation, Dr. Saltiel said, “The actions taken by the United States and Israel are the inevitable result of decades of unchecked violence and a sustained international failure to confront a growing threat. This Council cannot ignore that reality.”
In closing, he called on governments worldwide “to act immediately to protect their Jewish citizens and Jewish institutions. Iran’s conduct has led directly to this moment — and there must be accountability now.”
