Sen. Marco Rubio on Thursday called on the United Nations Security Council to support emergency meetings on a variety of world crises, including one on the Iran protests that has been attacked by Russia.
Rubio, the second-term Florida Republican, took to Twitter:
The U.S. delegation to the United Nations said Thursday it had formally requested a Security Council meeting for Friday to discuss "ongoing developments in Iran."
The meeting has not yet been formally scheduled.
U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley said this week Washington was seeking emergency sessions on Iran at the United Nations in New York and at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.
But Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov slammed the U.S. call for the emergency session on Tehran "harmful and destructive."
"We see no role for the United Nations Security Council in this issue," Ryabkov said, according to the RIA news agency. "Iran's domestic affairs have nothing to do with the United Nations Security Council's role."
Anti-government protests have swept Iranian cities and towns over the past week — 21 people have been killed in the unrest — and Tehran ripped President Donald Trump's support for the demonstrators as "deceitful and opportunist."
State Department press secretary Heather Nauert suggested the U.S. could impose sanctions against Iran for repressing peaceful protests.
But Ryabkov said such methods were "illegitimate," adding Moscow remained committed to the Iran nuclear deal, which has been attacked by Trump.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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