'UNSC failed its duty to maintain international peace:' Iran

The UN Security Council (UNSC) held an emergency meeting on 14 April called by Israel to discuss Iran's retaliatory strikes on military targets linked to the bombing of their consulate in Damascus earlier this month.

Delegates representing numerous nations voiced their concerns about a hastening spiral of violence in West Asia.

US envoy Robert Wood condemned Iran’s attack, saying that the Islamic Republic “not only posed a threat to populations in Israel but also to other UN Member States in the region, including Jordan and Iraq.”

France and the UK’s representatives echoed this statement, with the French delegate saying it “crossed a new threshold in its destabilizing action, risking a military escalation.”

Russia's representative to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, criticized the double standard upheld by western nations, saying, “an attack on a diplomatic center is an act of belligerence under international law, and if a Western mission was attacked, you would immediately react with revenge.”

Nebenzia noted that Iran’s strike “did not happen in a vacuum” and pressed the UNSC’s inactions for not holding a meeting following Israel’s attack on the Iranian consulate.

"It is regrettable that, unlike today's meeting, you did not propose to bring it to brief the Council on the 2nd of April,” The Russian delegate said, noting that Moscow ordered an emergency briefing to be held in light of the attack on Damascus.

China’s representative, Zhang Jun, called the attack on the Iranian consulate a violation of both Syria’s and Iran’s sovereignty, saying that Iran’s Operation True Promise was in response to the Israeli aggression and that “the matter can be deemed concluded.”

He also emphasized that “If the flames of the Gaza conflict are allowed to continue raging, then the adverse spillover is set to spread further, making the region even more unstable.”

Ammar bin Jame, Algeria's deputy representative at the UNSC, blamed Israel for allowing the situation in West Asia to reach this level, adding that Iran’s actions were in response to Israel’s attack on the consulate.

He also stated that policies should be applied consistently for all countries, echoing Russia’s concerns. He added that it is not possible to remain calm while a country's territory is attacked and act differently when a response is issued.

Israel’s representative, Gilad Erdan, said that the attack showed Iran’s “hegemonic ambitions of global domination,” adding that it “must be stopped before it drives the world to the point of no return … a world war.”

Erdan also asked the security council to imagine the attack being carried out "under the Iranian nuclear umbrella,” calling on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to impose all possible sanctions on Iran “before it's too late.”

Iran’s representative, Amir Saeid Iravani, said that Tehran’s actions were an act of self-defense, saying, “This concluded action was necessary and proportionate,” adding that Tehran only attacked military targets to minimize the potential for escalation and prevent civilian harm.

Iravani pressed the UNSC for failing “in its duty to maintain international peace and security.”

“It is time for the Security Council to shoulder its responsibility and address the real threat to international peace and security,” He said, urging the UNSC to “take urgent and punitive measures to compel this regime [Israel] to stop a genocide against the people of Gaza.”

He also called out the US, UK, and France, saying, “They have denied Iran’s inherent right to self-defense against the Israeli armed attacks on our diplomatic premises; at the same time, they shamefully justified the Israeli massacre and genocide against the defenseless Palestinian people under the pretext of self-defense.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also attended the meeting, and urged both Iran and Israel to show “maximum restraint."

“The Middle East is on the brink. The people of the region are confronting a real danger of a devastating full-scale conflict,” Guterres said in his address to the council. “Now is the time to defuse and de-escalate. Now is the time for maximum restraint.”

Sunday’s meeting was held at the request of Israel’s Permanent Representative to the UN, who sent a letter to Guterres on 13 April, calling Iran’s response a violation of the UN Charter and international law.

https://thecradle.co/articles/unsc-failed-its-duty-to-maintain-international-peace-iran