Iran rejected the UN Security Council resolution condemning its attacks on the countries in the Gulf region and Jordan, calling it unjust and unlawful. The resolution also demands immediate halt of all Iranian attacks on the region.
“We do not recognize the council’s actions today. We consider it unjust and unlawful, inconsistent with the UN charter and international law, and an action that completely disregards the established principles governing the determination of acts of aggression and breaches of peace,” Iranian ambassador to the UN Amir Saied Iravani said after the adoption of the resolution.
The resolution sponsored by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) received 13 votes in favor and none against, with Russia and China abstaining.
The resolution condemns Iran’s attacks on the Gulf countries and Jordan and demands an immediate halt to its hostilities without mentioning Israeli-US attacks on Iran which caused the Iranian retaliations.
The resolution also demands an end to Iranian threats to maritime trade in the region.
Iran has launched several missiles and drone attacks at military and civilian installations in the Gulf countries such as Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia as well as in Jordan.
Iran has justified the attacks calling them measures of self defense as the US and Israel use US military bases located in all of these countries to launch attacks against it. Iran has also blocked the Strait of Hormuz, which has impacted the ability of Gulf countries to export oil and gas to the world.
Integrity of the countries under question
Iravani questioned the integrity of countries who voted in favor of the resolution. He claimed that they chose to ignore the “illegal illegitimate and unprovoked” military attacks against Iran which have resulted in the deaths of over 1,300 people, including 170 girls killed when a US missile hit their school and the “cowardly and terrorist assassination” of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. Over 17,000 people have also been injured in the US-Israeli attacks in Iran which began on February 28.
Iran claims the US and Israel have targeted around 20,000 civilian installations in the last 12 days including schools, hospitals, historic monuments and essential services.
By presenting the resolution which only condemns Iranian retaliation and failing to identify the aggressors “it is evident that these countries are simply implementing political instructions from Washington rather than exercising independent judgment and decision,” Iravani said.
A disappointing result
Russia too criticized the resolution calling it biased and one-sided. It claimed the resolution’s adoption was in bad faith as it ignores the fact that the US and Israel started the war and are killing Iranians including its leadership.
Russia also presented an alternative resolution demanding immediate halt of all hostilities in the region and resumption of negotiations.
However, it was rejected after the US and Latvia voted against it and the majority of other countries abstained. Only three other countries, China, Pakistan and Somalia voted in favor.
Both Russia and China expressed their disappointments after the failure of the second resolution.
Vasily Nebenzia, Russian representative said that the voting pattern in the UNSC confirms that most of the countries chose to prioritize their narrow short term interests over the principles of the UN Charter.
Chinese representative Fu Cong regretted the outcome calling the Russian resolution balanced and principled. He reiterated his country’s position demanding the end of the war.
The Chinese representative also claimed that regardless of the outcome on Wednesday, his country will continue to work for peace in the region.
A loss of credibility for the UN
Iravani called the adoption of the resolution “a serious setback to the Security Council’s credibility” saying it leaves a “lasting stain on the world body’s record.”
“The move represents a blatant misuse of the Security Council’s mandate in pursuit of the political agendas of certain members, distorts the realities on the ground, and deliberately ignores the root causes of the current crisis,” he further said.
It reverses the roles of the victim and aggressor and rewards the US and Israel for violating the UN charter and emboldens them to commit more such crimes, the Iranian ambassador said.
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