MOSCOW – Russia considers a U.S. proposal for an extraordinary meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the turmoil in Iran “harmful and destructive”, RIA news agency cited Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Thursday.

“We see no role for the United Nations Security Council in this issue,” he said, according to the agency. “Iran’s domestic affairs have nothing to do with the United Nations Security Council’s role.”

On Thursday, the U.S. delegation to the United Nations said it had formally requested a Security Council meeting for Friday at 3 p.m. (2000 GMT) to discuss “ongoing developments in Iran.” The meeting has not yet been formally scheduled.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said this week that Washington was seeking emergency sessions on Iran at the United Nations in New York and at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Anti-government protests have swept Iranian cities and towns over the past week and 21 people have been killed in the unrest.

Commenting on the possibility of new U.S. sanctions on Iran, Ryabkov said such methods were “illegitimate”.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert had suggested the U.S. government could impose sanctions against Iranian officials who repress peaceful protests.

Ryabkov said earlier on Thursday that the United States should not interfere in Iran’s domestic affairs, and that Moscow remained committed to the 2015 international deal to curtail Tehran’s nuclear program, which U.S. President Donald Trump has challenged.