US ambassador makes 'blatant' statement against Israel

US ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea corrected herself after accidentally saying Israel had "spread chaos, terror and suffering" across the Middle East during a statement to the UN Security Council, says Al Jazeera.

Shea went on to blame Iran for the conflict with Israel, saying Tehran should have agreed to a deal to curb its nuclear programme.

The meeting has been fraught with hostility with both sides trading scathing accusations over blame for the war between them.

The Iranian ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, denounced "the so-called pre-emptive attacks and existential threat claims used by this terrorist regime and its allies to justify aggression," and described Israel as a nation that "kills innocent people and violates the territorial integrity of the states." He held up photos of children he said were killed by Israeli strikes, reports the NY Times.

The Israeli ambassador, Danny Danon, in turn, accused Iran of "playing the victim," and demanded of Iravani, "How dare you ask the international community to protect you from the consequences of your own genocidal agenda?"

The meeting — riddled with personal attacks and finger-pointing among the members — came as talks in Geneva between Iran and European countries adjourned without a breakthrough, and Iran's foreign minister said serious negotiations were not possible until Israel stopped bombing.

Security Council members largely agreed on the need to end the fighting and seek diplomacy, but their session devolved into arguing over who was to blame, says the NY Times.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, declared on June 12 that Iran was in breach of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the first time the agency has passed a resolution against the country in 20 years.

The agency reported that Iran had accelerated its enrichment of uranium, an element that can be used to make an atomic bomb, to a high level. It noted that all of the other nations that possess such highly enriched uranium also have nuclear weapons, but stopped short of saying that Iran was building one, says the NY Times.

Nebenzya called the IAEA. report "biased" and "baseless," while Fu Cong, China's representative, took a milder stance on Friday. He condemned Israel's attacks and called for an immediate cease-fire, but refrained from criticizing the IAEA. or the United States.

US intelligence agencies have assessed that Iran is not trying to build a bomb, though it might be able to do so within a year. When asked about that on Friday, President Trump said, "Well, then my intelligence community is wrong."

The secretary general of the United Nations, António Guterres, acknowledged Iran's longstanding denial about seeking nuclear weapons but pointed to a "trust gap."

"The only way to bridge that gap is through diplomacy, to establish a credible, comprehensive and verifiable solution, including full access to the inspectors of the IAEA.," he said.

Guterres warned Israel and Iran to give peace a chance before the conflict escalates further. "We are not drifting toward a crisis. We are racing toward it."

At least 224 people have been killed and more than 2,500 injured in Israeli strikes across Iran as of Thursday, according to Iran's Ministry of Health. At least 29 people have been killed and about 900 injured in Iranian strikes across Israel, Danon said on Friday. Both countries said the majority of their casualties were civilians.