UNITED NATIONS -- Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations told the Security Council on Thursday that “the responsibility for any disruption, obstruction, or other interference with maritime navigation in the Persian Gulf, and the Strait of Hormuz lies directly with the aggressors and those who facilitate or assist their acts of aggression against Iran,” rejecting attempts to shift blame onto Tehran.
Addressing a council meeting on emerging technologies and maritime security, Gholamhussein Darzi said the Strait of Hormuz “remained open until 28 February 2026,” when “the United States, together with the Israeli regime have waged a brutal war of aggression against Iran and continues its acts of aggression and unlawful measures to date”. 
He said Washington and Israel are deliberately targeting Iran’s civilian and maritime infrastructure, ports, and vessels.
“Attempts to shift this responsibility onto Iran are unfounded and lack credibility,” Darzi said.
The envoy presented a chronology of incidents he said illustrated the gravity of the situation. 
“On 4 March 2026, a U.S. submarine sank the Iranian frigate Dena in international waters in the Indian Ocean, killing more than 100 Iranian sailors,” he said. 
“On 19 April 2026, U.S. military forces attacked the Iranian commercial vessel Toska. By 23 May 2026, CENTCOM reported redirecting 100 commercial vessels and disabling four in enforcing the blockade. On 23 July 2026, U.S. forces attacked two Iranian search-and-rescue vessels, Naji-15 and Naji-16, in Iran’s territorial waters while they were engaged in humanitarian operations.”
Darzi said the United States imposed “a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports since 12 April 2026,” describing it as “a flagrant violation of Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, a grave breach of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter which prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State”.
“The U.S. blockade threatens civilians’ access to food, medicines, fuel, and other essential supplies and impose collective punishment, and deprive them of essential needs indispensable to their survival,” he said.
Iran’s measures, Darzi asserted, “are defensive and lawful.” 
“As a coastal State, Iran has the legitimate right, under international law, to take all necessary and appropriate measures to protect its sovereign rights, its territorial integrity, its people, and its vital national interests against the U.S. ongoing threat or aggression.” 
He called on the Security Council to act. “The Security Council must not remain silent in the face of these violations. It must clearly call on the United States to immediately cease these unlawful acts,” Darzi said.
“Iran will pursue all available legal avenues to ensure that those responsible are held to account.”