Diplomat accuses UN of preparing for nuclear strike on Iran, resigns saying 'giving up career to leak info'

UNITED NATIONS: A United Nations diplomat has resigned from his post, warning that the organisation may be preparing for a scenario involving the use of nuclear weapons against Iran.

Mohamad Safa, who represented the Patriotic Vision Association (PVA) at the UN, said he stepped down in order to share information he considered critical. The PVA is a non-governmental organisation with special consultative status at the UN Economic and Social Council (Ecosoc). Safa accused senior UN officials of acting in the interest of a “powerful lobby” rather than the UN.

In a social media post, Safa said that he resigned from his role in order to "leak the information", before claiming that some senior figures at the UN had been "serving a powerful lobby" and not the UN itself.⁠
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"This is a picture of Tehran. For you uneducated, untraveled, never-served, warhawks licking your chops at the thought of bombing it. It's not some low population desert," he wrote in a social media post accompanied by a photo of the Iranian capital.⁠
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"There are families, children, family pets. Regular working class people with dreams. You're sick to want war. Tehran is a city of nearly 10,000,000 people. Imagine nuking Washington, Berlin, Paris, London, or beyond, bombed with nuclear weapons," he said.⁠
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"I don't think people understand the gravity of the situation as the UN is preparing for possible nuclear weapon use in Iran… I gave up my diplomatic career to leak this information. I suspended my duties so as not to be part of or a witness to this crime against humanity," he added.⁠

According to the UN Environment Programme’s Champions of the Earth, Safa has served as PVA executive director since 2013 and was appointed its permanent UN representative in 2016.

His resignation comes amid rising tensions in the region. In recent days, several Iranian lawmakers have suggested that Tehran should withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) following attacks on civilian nuclear facilities by the United States and Israel.

Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesman for Iran’s parliamentary national security commission, said remaining part of the NPT “has had no benefit for us.” Iran, a signatory since 1970, is legally bound as a non-nuclear-weapon state not to develop nuclear arms, and its programme is subject to international oversight and verification. Israel, by contrast, has never joined the treaty and is not legally restricted under its provisions.

Safa’s warnings follow statements from the World Health Organization (WHO), which said it was preparing for a “worst-case scenario” involving nuclear fallout if the conflict escalates further. Analysts have highlighted the heightened humanitarian risks, particularly for densely populated areas such as Tehran.

Experts say the combination of military strikes, political tensions, and legal ambiguities in the region raises serious concerns over the potential for widespread civilian harm and regional instability.