Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, on Saturday, called on the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, whom he described as lords of war, to “change their behaviour” amid rising global tensions.

Mr Lula told an international summit of progressive leaders in Barcelona that the permanent members—China, France, Russia, the UK, and the U.S.—who are responsible for maintaining peace now fuel conflict.

“The five members of the Security Council, the permanent members, who, when the Security Council was established, were supposed to ensure world peace after the Second World War, have become the lords of war,” said the president.

He lambasted the countries for “taking all decisions” without consulting the United Nations, as the poor suffer the consequences of their actions.

Mr Lula, who did not explicitly name any leader, seemingly slammed U.S. President Donald Trump over social media posts “threatening” Iran. Al Jazeera shared a video of the event, where Mr Lula spoke in Portuguese.

The U.S. president, on different occasions, issued threats and severe warnings to the Islamic Republic on his Truth Social page, including a threat that “the whole civilisation will die” if Iran failed to open the Strait of Hormuz.

“We cannot wake up every morning and go to bed every night with the president of a republic tweeting, threatening the world and declaring wars,” said the Brazilian president.

“No president of any country in the world, however powerful, has the right to keep imposing rules on other countries. Not a single one,” Mr Lula declared. “And the five members of the UN Security Council must meet to change their behaviour.”

Mr Lula also accused the UN of “remaining silent” while the “emperors who think they own the world” wage war against other countries.

“Today, the United Nations no longer represents the purpose for which it was created,” he said.

The U.S. and Israeli military launched attacks on Iran on February 28, killing the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top officials. 

Since the launch of the attacks, the U.S. forces have targeted Iranian military bases and infrastructure. Iran also retaliated by targeting Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf.

Iranian officials reported that thousands have been killed in the country.

On April 8, the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire. However, Mr Trump warned on Friday that military actions against Iran could resume should it fail to agree to a deal, including giving up its nuclear programme, by April 22.

The UN, rights organisations, including Amnesty International, Pope Leo XIV, U.S. lawmakers, foreign governments, as well as security and political analysts have criticised Mr Trump over his handling of the war.