New York — The Iranian ambassador to the United Nations on Friday accused the U.S. of abusing its power as a permanent member of the Security Council during an emergency meeting called by the Trump administration to discuss unrest and protests in Iran.

Gholamali Khoshroo said the protests that have roiled Iran over the past week were an internal domestic affair, outside the mandate of the Security Council. He cited a long list of protest movements in the United States, including Occupy Wall Street, Kent State University students slain during anti-Vetnam war protests in 1970 and the protests over the killing of African-Americans by police officers.

Khoshroo said for Washington to call a meeting to discuss Iranian protests was a “preposterous example” of U.S. bullying tactics at the United Nations, and added that it had “lost every shred of moral, political and legal authority and credibility in the eyes of the whole world.”

“It is a discredit to the Security Council to take up a matter that is of pure domestic nature while failing objectively to lift a finger when it comes to genuine issues,” he said, citing the Palestinian yearning for a homeland and a Saudi-led bombing campaign against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.

Khoshroo was the final ambassador to speak in a 90-minute debate to address what U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley called the “troubling and dangerous situation in Iran.”

Eight days of protest have led to at least 21 deaths and more than 1,000 arrests, mostly in clashes with security forces. On the ground in Iran, however, the unrest appears to have ebbed on Friday. But Haley called on the Security Council to “amplify the message of the Iranian people.”

“Today the people of Iran are speaking to their government, and their message is undeniable: ‘Stop the support for terrorism. Stop giving billions of our money to killers and dictators. Stop taking our wealth and spending it on foreign fighters and proxy wars. Think of us,’” she said.

During the hearing, Haley called on her colleagues to “amplify the message of the Iranian people.” She also called government of Iran to “stop censoring the voice of the people, and to restore the access to the internet.”

Protests that initially aired economic grievances turned political and spread to small cities and towns throughout the country. Some demonstrators openly chanted anti-government slogans at both the hard line clerics who run the country and at President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate who promised more political freedoms and economic improvements following sanctions relief after the 2015 nuclear deal.

They were followed by large pro-government rallies in Tehran and other cities, all of which were widely covered by Iranian state television.