Envoy Rejects Western Claims About Iran’s Role in Ukraine War
UNITED NATIONS (Dispatches) -- Iran’s UN envoy has rejected
allegations leveled by several Western countries that accuse Tehran of military involvement in the Ukraine war.
Amir Saeed Iravani, in a letter to the UN Security Council, said Iran has maintained its policy of impartiality since the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine in 2022.
“I wish to categorically reject the baseless allegations made against my country in statements delivered by the representatives of the United States, the United Kingdom, and France in the UN Security Council open briefing held on 25 July 2024 under the agenda item “Threats to international peace and security” focusing on the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine,” he wrote.
“The desperate attempt by the representative of France in this meeting to falsely associate their claims with UN Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015) is both misleading and completely unfounded,” he stated.
“As we have reiterated numerous times, Resolution 2231 has nothing to do with the Ukrainian conflict,” he stated.
The ambassador also denounced “an unwarranted reference made to the Islamic Republic of Iran by the representative of Switzerland in this meeting was provoking and irresponsible.”
“I also reject unequivocally the identical allegations by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, in the UN Security Council open briefings held on 14 and 18 June 2024 under agenda data-x-items ‘Threats to international peace and security’ and ‘Maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine,’” he said.
“We regard these allegations as nothing but attempts to advance the narrow and shortsighted political agendas of these three permanent members of the Council, as their records in the Council testify this,” he said.
Iravani also blasted the U.S., UK and France for sending billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine which has helped to prolong
the war and inflict more harm on the civilian population.
“The U.S. and its allies must look in the mirror to understand how Western arms and advanced weaponry, especially from the United States, have prolonged the war in Ukraine and inflicted harm on civilians,” he said.
The analyst rejected the anti-Iran allegations by these countries as part of their narrow and shortsighted political agenda.
Iravani denied Iran’s involvement in the sale, export, or transfer of arms to the Ukraine war.
He said, “Any allegations suggesting Iran’s involvement in the sale, export, or transfer of arms in violation of its international commitments are entirely baseless and categorically denied. Iran once again reaffirms its unwavering commitment to upholding international humanitarian law.”
Iran has categorically rejected allegations it is providing ballistic missiles and related technology to Russia, raised by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), to be used in the military campaign against Ukraine.
Earlier this month, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani said NATO has made “totally baseless and politically-motivated” claims.
The NATO leaders had claimed that North Korea and Iran were fuelling Russia’s military operation against Ukraine by providing direct military support to Moscow, such as munitions and uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs), which they said impacted Euro-Atlantic security and undermined the global non-proliferation regime.
Iran has never provided Russia with any type of drones during the military conflict in Ukraine and still emphasizes the importance of settling the crisis and establishing lasting peace through political channels, the diplomat pointed out.
Iran has repeatedly rejected accusations that it has supplied weapons to Russia for direct use in the war in Ukraine. It has also discarded allegations of supplying weapons to anti-Israeli and anti-U.S. groups in the region.