TEHRAN (Iran News) –  Iran’s permanent ambassador to the United Nations (UN) has dismissed as “unfounded and irrelevant” Israel’s allegations against Tehran’s nuclear program, saying the accusations are aimed at covering up the threats posed by the regime’s nuclear weapons to the region and the world.

Majid Takht-Ravanchi made the remarks at a UN Security Council session on Tuesday after Israel’s ambassador Gilad Erdan accused Iran of trying to become a “nuclear threshold state,” and continuing to violate international commitments regarding enrichment and stockpiling of uranium.

Erdan also accused Tehran of using the nuclear diplomacy talks in Vienna to buy time to achieve near weapons-grade uranium enrichment.

“We categorically reject and strongly condemn the baseless accusations made by the representative of the Israeli regime in this meeting against our country,” Takht-Ravanchi said at the UN Security Council session.

“Israel’s allegations about Iran’s peaceful nuclear program, the peaceful nature of which has been repeatedly verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), are completely absurd, unfounded and irrelevant.”

The Iranian diplomat said Israel is trying to play the victim in a bid to divert the attention of the international community from its crimes against Palestinian people, adding that the regime’s accusations are also aimed at covering up the threat that its nuclear weapons pose to the region and world.

“It is obvious that the aim of the Israeli regime in these baseless accusations is to hide the danger that its nuclear weapons pose to the region and the international community,” Takht-Ravanchi said.

“To eliminate this threat, the international community must force the Israeli regime to stop its threatening nuclear activities, adhere to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and keep its entire nuclear activities and facilities under the International Atomic Energy Agency’s surveillance,” he added.

Responding to Erdan’s raising the possibility of a military attack against Iran, Takht-Ravanchi said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran reserves the inherent right to take all necessary measures to protect and defend itself in accordance with international law.”

Iran has time and again warned that it will give a crushing response to any acts of aggression against the country.