ISLAMABAD: Iran has said it seeks neither escalation nor confrontation but warned that any act of aggression against it would be met with a decisive and lawful response under the UN Charter.
Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting, Iran’s Deputy Permanent Representative Ambassador Gholamhossein Darzi said any threat or use of force against Iran, under any pretext including claims of protecting protesters or supporting the Iranian people, would constitute a grave violation of international law and the UN Charter.
He said such actions would breach Article 2(4) of the Charter, which prohibits the threat or use of force, as well as Article 2(7) on non-intervention in internal affairs. Darzi said there was a clear legal, moral and political responsibility to reject and condemn such unlawful actions.
“The credibility of the United Nations and the survival of the Charter itself now depend on whether these fundamental prohibitions are upheld or eroded,” he said.
Darzi stressed that while Iran does not seek escalation, any direct or indirect aggression would draw a proportionate and lawful response under Article 51 of the Charter, adding that responsibility for the consequences would lie with those who initiate such acts.
He accused the United States of using the meeting to conceal its alleged role in fueling unrest in Iran and laying the groundwork for political destabilization and possible military intervention under what he described as a humanitarian narrative. He also objected to the participation of civil society briefers, saying they represented the political agendas of the United States and Israel.
‘US stands with brave people of Iran’
Ambassador Mike Waltz of the United States thanked today’s briefers for their courage – "both of whom have personally targeted for assassination both of whom have been tortured “at the hands of this brutal regime”.
“The level of violence, this level of repression that the Iranian regime has unleashed against its own citizens and its own people has repercussions for international peace and security,” he said.
The people of Iran are demanding their freedom like never before in the Islamic Republic’s brutal history, he said.
“President Donald J. Trump and the United States of America stands by the brave people of Iran,” he affirmed. “Regardless of its excuses, the regime is solely responsible for the economic misery of the Iranian people” and “will be held accountable”.
‘US fueling hysteria around Iran’
Russia criticized the US approach, with Ambassador Vassily A. Nebenzia accusing Washington of escalating tensions and fueling what he called hysteria around Iran.
He said the Security Council meeting, requested by the United States, was an attempt to justify interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state. Nebenzia warned that the US was threatening strikes aimed at overthrowing an undesirable regime, rather than addressing the issue through the Council’s mandate to maintain international peace and security.
‘Force can never solve problems’
China also voiced strong opposition to any use of force. Ambassador Sun Lei said the United States had openly issued threats against Iran, stressing that sovereign equality and non-interference are the most fundamental norms of international relations.
He said the use of force could never solve problems and warned that military adventurism would push the region towards an abyss, adding that no action in defiance of international law could be tolerated.
