Iran tells UN Israel attack was ‘self-defense’
Iran’s United Nations envoy told the Security Council on Sunday that the Islamic republic was exercising its “inherent right to self-defense” in its unprecedented attack on Israel.
“Iran’s operation was entirely in the exercise of Iran’s inherent right to self-defense as outlined in Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations and recognized by international law”, Amir Saeid Iravani said.
Overnight on Saturday and early Sunday morning, more than 300 Iranian drones and missiles rained down on targets in the Israeli-occupied lands.
The large-scale operation came less than two weeks after Israeli warplanes bombed the consular annex of Iran’s Embassy in the Syrian capital of Damascus, killing seven members of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) who were on an advisory mission to the Arab
country.
Iravani underlined that the concluded action was necessary and proportionate. It was precise and only targeted military objectives, and carried out carefully to minimize the potential for escalation and prevent civilian harm.
“The Security Council... failed in its duty to maintain international peace and security” after Israel’s apparent strike on an Iranian consulate in Damascus earlier this month, the Iranian diplomat added.
Therefore, Tehran “had no choice” but to respond, he said, adding that his country does “not seek escalation or war,” but will respond to any “threat or aggression.”
Hypocritical meeting
During the meeting, Russia’s UN envoy denounced as hypocritical the meeting of the Security Council on Iran’s strikes. Vasily Nebenzya called it “a display of hypocrisy and double standards, which is almost embarrassing to watch.”
“You know very well that an attack on a diplomatic mission is a casus belli under international law,” he stated.
“If Western missions were attacked, you would not hesitate to retaliate and prove your case in this room. Because for you, everything that concerns Western missions and Western citizens is sacred and must be protected,” the Russian official added.
Protecting Israeli
regime
Iranian envoy also lambasted the US and the UK for their protecting the Israeli regime against accountability.
“The US and the UK are fully responsible for all its (Israel’s) decades-long aggressions and other crimes and unlawful measures in our region,” he said.
“Furthermore, they are responsible for all crimes of the Israeli regime, as it cannot commit any of such savage crimes in Gaza without the consent, order, and all-out political, financial, and military support of, and collaboration with, the United States and the UK.”
“We demonstrated our commitment to peace by exercising our restraint about involving the US Army in intercepting Iranian drones and missiles bound for military targets in the occupied Palestinian territories,” Iravani added.
“This underscores our dedication to de-escalating tensions and avoiding the expansion of conflict.”
Call for de-escalation
Many countries, including the regime’s allies, are now urging restraint from Israel.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that France would help do everything to avoid “a conflagration – that is to say an escalation”.
That would involve “trying to convince Israel not to respond by escalating,” he said.
Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz also on Monday urged restraint by Israel.
UK Foreign Minister David Cameron urged Israel to “avoid escalation” and instead urged Israeli authorities to focus on freeing captives held by
Hamas.
The United States, the regime’s main ally, has also said it will not join any potential Israeli counterattack against Iran.
“We would not be a part of any response they do,” the Biden administration official told reporters on a call. “We would not envision ourselves participating in such an act.”
However, Iranian officials have repeatedly warned of a much harsher response against any further action by Israel in the aftermath of Iran’s retaliatory
operation.