Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, praised U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites and warned on Tuesday that any further attacks on Israeli civilians "will be met with overpowering righteous force," he said during a press briefing at U.N. headquarters.

Danon identified the strikes as aimed at Iran's nuclear program and thanked the United States and President Donald Trump for the operation. "In the last 24 hours, history changed," Danon said, calling the action "a necessary act and a brave decision to remove the greatest threat to global security." He named Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan as the sites struck.

The ambassador said Iran "arms militias in Iraq," "commands terror in Lebanon," "funds Houthis in Yemen" and "plots murder in Europe," and argued the international community should show gratitude to the United States. "You cannot protect peace by appeasing evil," he said.

In a question-and-answer session, a China Central Television reporter asked whether Israel is safer after the operation. Danon replied, "Absolutely. Not only Israel. I think the entire world is safer," and said the U.S. capabilities demonstrated in the operation were "very impressive."

When asked whether Israel would continue targeting sites inside Iran or pursue regime change, Danon said Israel "has many targets still" and urged Iranian leaders to "think very carefully about their steps." On regime change he added, "That's up to the Iranian people to decide, not for us."

Asked about coordination with the United States, Danon said Israel and the United States had "very close coordination ... before the attack, during the attack, and after the attack," and that coordination would continue. He also said it was "early to assess the attack," but praised the U.S. operation.

A reporter identified as Sebastian asked about a statement from U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, who said he was "alarmed" by the U.S. attacks and called for diplomacy. Danon criticized the secretary-general's remarks as "very disappointing," saying Guterres had failed to acknowledge the threat posed by a nuclear Iran and that diplomacy had failed for decades.

Danon acknowledged Israeli casualties in the exchange, saying the Iranian approach "targets civilian cities, not military bases," and that Israel has "very strong defense capabilities." He said Israel would continue to "defend our people" and would not hesitate to act to "secure our future."

The briefing closed with Danon saying the world should "show its gratitude" to the United States and reiterating that Israel would continue to target military and nuclear facilities while urging Iran to "calculate their steps."