authoritarian regimes rally to defend Iran’s regime amid reports of thousands slaughtered in a brutal crackdown on nationwide protests that erupted on December 28, 2025.
Transcript of the Video:
Iran:
The Islamic Republic of Iran does not recognize the legitimacy or validity of this special session. As the protests started Iran fully recognized the right of people for peaceful protest.
China:
China does not support the convening of this special session.
Pakistan:
Pakistan will always be a friend to Iran and Iranian people everywhere. We also note Iran’s commitment to uphold the due process of law.
South Africa:
There has been direct interference by external actors to sow divisions and deepen instability in Iran. These developments only serve to fuel instability, which is of no benefit to the Iranian people.
Brazil:
Human rights situations in Iran or anywhere else should not be used as an excuse for foreign interventions or the use of force.
North Korea:
The delegation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea does not support the holding of this special session and the practice of tabling a politically motivated resolution targeting a specific country.
Venezuela:
The self-determination of Iran should be respected. We regret that this special session has been convened.
Russian Federation:
Efforts by the authorities to restore law and order thwarted destructive plans to destabilize the situation in Iran. Effectively, they prevented an attempted coup d’état that was being steered by foreign special services.
Hillel Neuer (UN Watch):
Mr. President, doctors in Iran estimate 20,000 protesters killed and 330,000 injured. These are numbers that defy comprehension. These are crimes against humanity. So today’s session is welcome, but let’s be honest: it is too little and too late. The Iranian people have a right to know: why for over three weeks did this Council say nothing?
We ask the 87 UN rights experts, the world’s early warning mechanism: for over two weeks, why were you silent? Only on January 13th was there a statement, and out of 87 experts, only five of you signed it. Day after day, we pleaded for action.
Five days into the repression, after killings of protesters, I asked Agnès Callamard, the former UN Rapporteur who now heads Amnesty International: why are you silent?
In January 2020, when the U.S. eliminated IRGC terror chief Qasem Soleimani, she rushed within hours to condemn it. Why no urgency when innocent Iranian protesters are massacred?
And beyond this room, we ask the media, Hollywood celebrities, campus protesters, those who know how to mobilize world opinion: why are you silent?
The answer is uncomfortable but clear: the Iran protest movement shatters a cherished narrative. A people rising against Islamist tyranny does not fit the ideology, and so it is ignored.
To all of you we say, the cost of your silence was Iranian lives. It is time to choose: do everything to protect the people of Iran, or your failed worldview.
History is watching.
