TEHRAN- Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations has vehemently slammed the U.S. for throwing its way behind the Israeli regime and blocking calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Addressing a UN session on Monday, Amir Saeed Iravani said that the U.S. misusing its veto power at the Security Council is essentially giving Israel more time and freedom to bomb Palestinians and starve them to death.  

An excerpt of Iravani’s speech is as follows:

A few days ago, the international community once again witnessed another unjust use of the veto power by the U.S. during the voting on a draft resolution (S/2024/173) presented by Algeria, calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Despite receiving widespread support from Member States and nations globally, the U.S. shamefully wielded its veto power against the resolution. The actions of the U.S. administration in this regard will undoubtedly be scrutinized by both nations and history alike.

Iran commends the valuable efforts and unwavering dedication of Algeria within the Security Council, particularly in addressing the ongoing situation in Gaza. We commend their initiative in presenting a robust draft resolution aimed at achieving the long-awaited ceasefire. We express our gratitude to the 13 Council members who supported the ceasefire in Gaza by voting in favor of the draft resolution.

The gravity of the situation in Gaza has garnered widespread attention within the international community. The Israeli authorities are using starvation as a deliberate method of war against the civilian population in Gaza. 

Regrettably, the Council’s silence has become a license to kill and starve the Palestinian population.

Moreover, the international community is deeply alarmed by Israel's decision to invade Rafah, foreseeing dire consequences for the densely populated region. Additionally, the Israeli regime's actions in Lebanon and Syria, which contravene international law and the United Nations Charter, have further exacerbated tensions and raised concerns about destabilization in the region.

We strongly condemn the most recent brutal attack of the Israeli forces against the Palestinian civilians seeking humanitarian aid; The deliberate fire attack by Israeli forces has resulted in the death of 117 and about 750 wounded civilians.  All this cruelty has been happening in the absence of a demanded cease-fire. We shall precisely address the obstacle that the world has witnessed and that prevented attempts by the Security Council to shoulder its responsibilities and call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the occupied Palestinian Territory.

We once again reiterate our call for an urgent and sustainable ceasefire, which in its absence the tragedy worsens, and could lead to the loss of innocent lives, including children, and women. The paramount imperative is to swiftly implement a ceasefire to prevent widespread starvation in Gaza.

We must reiterate the urgency of the implementation of obligations under international humanitarian law and the provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), on 26 January 2024.

These measures are imperative to ensuring humanitarian aid reaches the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip.

In conclusion, Mr. President, considering the Security Council's current impasse, I wish to emphasize the obligations of the third parties under international law as well as outlined in provisional measures of the ICJ on 26 January 2024.

All member states are not only required to refrain from recognizing or assisting the Israeli regime in its pursuit of genocide but are also obligated to take the required steps to prevent such war crimes and acts of genocide.

Therefore, we urge the international community and all sovereign states to implement necessary measures to compel Israel to cease its genocidal war and aggression against the Palestinian people.

These measures may include the imposition of collective and individual economic sanctions.

Furthermore, the international community must pressure the Israeli regime into halting its violations and upholding its international obligations.

Tehran backs constructive dialogue between Syria, OPCW

In another meeting of “the United Nations Security Council on the situation in the Middle East (Syria-Chemical),” Iravani said that Tehran supports the continuation of constructive dialogue between Syria and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to address the remaining issues and bring the case to a final and definitive solution.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran once again condemns the use of chemical weapons in any place and time by anyone and under any circumstances in the strongest possible way,” the envoy added.

An excerpt of Iravani’s speech is as follows:

Iran once again condemns in the strongest possible terms the use of chemical weapons anywhere, by anyone, at any time, and under any circumstances.

We underscore once more that any investigation into the use of chemical weapons must be impartial, professional, credible, and objective, and must fully comply with the requirements and procedures of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Equally crucial, the OPCW must be able to perform its duties in an impartial, professional, and objective manner to establish facts and develop evidence-based conclusions.

We reiterate our call that the Convention must be implemented fully, effectively, and without discrimination.

We believe that politicizing the application of the Convention and exploiting the OPCW for political reasons endangers the credibility of both the Organization and the Convention.

As a committed party to the Convention, the Syrian Arab Republic continues to uphold its commitments and cooperate closely with the OPCW.

Additionally, the Syrian National Authority facilitated the tenth round of inspections of the Scientific Studies and Research Center in December 2023.

This is another piece of evidence that underscores Syria's ongoing cooperation with the Technical Secretariat.

As such, on 27 February 2024, the OPCW Technical Secretariat informed the Syrian National Authority about the closing of three outstanding issues concerning Syria's initial declaration, with the remaining issues that could be closed.

We call on certain countries to refrain from making baseless political accusations against Syria or premature judgments before the conclusion of such consultations.

We support the continued constructive dialogue between Syria and the OPCW to address any remaining issues and bring the file to a final and conclusive resolution.

We regret that certain Western countries have pursued the adoption of a contentious and politicized resolution during the 28th session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention.

We call on constructive efforts of the Security Council and expect a positive role from the Council members.