The formal meeting was preceded by closed-door consultations requested by Russia, which has accused Washington of interfering in Iran's national affairs and maintains the protests are not a matter for the council. But in the end, Moscow's envoy did not try to block the formal session from taking place. Earlier, US Ambassador Nikki Haley warned ahead of the meeting that the demonstrations could escalate into full-blown conflict, drawing a comparison with Syria.
"The world has witnessed the horrors that have taken place in Syria, that began with a murderous regime denying its people's right to peacefully protest," Haley said in a statement late Thursday. "We must not let that happen in Iran." A total of 21 people have died and hundreds have been arrested since December 28 as protests over economic woes turned against the regime as a whole, with attacks on government buildings and police stations.