TEHRAN — Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi has criticized the UN secretary general’s report claiming that the missiles that hit the Saudi Aramco where of Iranian origin, saying the report was completely aligned with the United States’ new plot against Iran.

“This claim is baseless and we regard the accusations leveled [against Iran] as a result of pressure by America and the Saudi regime,” Mousavi said on Monday during a press conference.

“The UN secretary general was pressured by certain countries and read a report that was unfounded,” he added.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council in a report seen by Reuters on Thursday that cruise missiles used in several attacks on oil facilities and an international airport in Saudi Arabia in November 2019 and February 2020 had been of “Iranian origin”.

He also said the “items may have been transferred in a manner inconsistent” with Security Council Resolution 2231, which enshrines the international nuclear deal – officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – signed between Iran and world powers in 2015.

Guterres said in his report that the United Nations had examined the debris of weapons used in the attacks on an oil facility in Afif in May, the Abha international airport in June and August, and the Aramco oil facilities in Khurais and Abqaiq in September.

In his reaction to the report, Mousavi also said the U.S. has taken the UN and other international bodies “hostage”. 

“This is America’s strategy,” the Foreign Ministry spokesman pointed out.

On Friday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry officially rejected the accusations and expressed deep concern over the abuse of the UN Secretariat for political purposes.

“While the Secretariat has treated with utmost tolerance and leniency towards these violations so far, it is now surprisingly engaged with an issue in which it has no authority to point out highly technical and legal findings, and its so-called technical report is in no way in line with the practical arrangements of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 to perform its functions,” the statement read. 

“Levelling accusations against other states using self-created processes and arbitrary procedures is a dangerous heresy, which is not accepted by the international community,” the Foreign Ministry warned.

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht-Ravanchi also condemned the report, saying it has been made under political pressure from the U.S.

Iran rejects allegations in the UN Secretariat report, including the “Iranian origin” of the arms, Takht-Ravanchi said via Twitter on Friday.

“UN Secretariat lacks capacity, expertise & knowledge to conduct investigations,” Takht-Ravanchi wrote.

“Seems the US—with its history of Iran-bashing—sits in the driver’s seat to shape UN ‘assessments’,” he added.

MH/PA