Rosemarie De Carlo, a United Nations official, told the Security Council on June 19 that the widening exchange of strikes between Iran and Israel has had “grave consequences for civilians in both countries” and warned the council the situation risks further regional escalation.

De Carlo said the attacks—she described strikes on more than 100 military sites and nuclear facilities in Iran—have also hit government buildings, homes, factories, hospitals, airports and refineries in and around Tehran, Isfahan, Tabriz and other cities. She named specific sites reported to have been struck, including the Kermanshah missile base and the Natanz and Isfahan nuclear facilities, and said Iran’s state television was bombed on June 17 during a live broadcast.

“International humanitarian law must be respected, including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution in attack,” De Carlo said. She added that medical personnel and facilities “must be respected and protected.”

De Carlo told the council that, as of June 19, Iran’s Ministry of Health had reported 224 people killed and more than 2,500 injured in strikes across Iran, and that the ministry said about 90 percent of the victims were civilians. She said other nongovernmental groups and human rights organizations estimate the death toll could be at least double that figure. She also said more than 20 senior Iranian military figures, including senior IRGC leaders and several nuclear scientists, had been killed.

On the Israeli side, De Carlo cited figures from Israel’s prime minister’s office that, as of June 19, 24 people had been killed and 915 were injured. She said residential neighborhoods and essential infrastructure in cities including Tel Aviv, Haifa, Bat Yam, Dimona, Petah Tikva and Eilat had been struck and mentioned civilian sites reported damaged such as the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, the Bazan Petrochemical Complex in Haifa and Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba.

De Carlo also described significant displacement from Tehran, saying the city’s population of about 12 million residents has seen mass movement and “massive traffic jams,” and reported fuel shortages that have produced lines of up to five hours at petrol stations. She warned of further civilian harm where there are no bomb shelters, where air raid sirens sound and where Internet blackouts are reported.

She described broader regional spillovers, noting missile launches by the Houthis in Yemen toward Israel and incidents of debris and unexploded ordnance reported over Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Syria. De Carlo cautioned that “any further expansion of the conflict could have enormous consequences for the region and for international peace and security at large.”

De Carlo also pointed to economic effects, saying trade through the Strait of Hormuz—“described by the World Bank as the world’s most critical oil passageway”—had already fallen by about 15 percent since heightened tensions began in late 2023. She told the council that International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Grossi would address the council shortly.

De Carlo closed by pressing for diplomacy, saying the U.N. Charter requires peaceful settlement of disputes and that “the imperative for diplomacy has seldom been greater.”

No formal Security Council decision or vote was recorded in the transcript of this briefing; the remarks were presented as a briefing to the council and no action items or motions were recorded.