At UN, Iran Urges States to Reject U.S. Economic Terrorism
UNITED NATIONS (Dispatches) -- Iran called on United Nations member states to reject and condemn the extraterritorial application of unilateral U.S. coercive measures, warning that Washington is seeking to force other states to subordinate their sovereign rights and lawful policies to its demands.
Gholamhussein Darzi, Iran’s deputy UN ambassador, made the appeal at a Security Council session on conflict and food security, a day after the U.S. Treasury announced a new campaign of economic terrorism against the Islamic Republic.
Referring to the measures announced on Aug. 24 as the “so-called Operation Economic Outcast,” Darzi said the “unlawful measures ... are seeking to impose an economic blockade on brave Iranian people.”
“We call on all states to reject and denounce the extraterritorial application of unilateral coercive measures by the United States regime,” he said.
Darzi said Washington is “weaponizing food, energy, trade and access to essential goods as instruments of pressure and warfare,” adding that such measures cannot be justified under the pretext of security or freedom of navigation.
He said the U.S. measures violate fundamental principles, including sovereign equality, non-intervention and freedom of navigation, while seeking to circumvent responsibilities entrusted to the Security Council under the UN Charter.
Linking the economic campaign to a wider U.S. maritime confrontation with Iran, Darzi said Washington has demonstrated an “utter disregard for international law.”
“The U.S. maritime blockade of Iran, and attacks on Iranian commercial vessels in international waters constitute grave violations of Iran’s sovereignty, freedom of navigation and international law of the sea,” he said.
He identified “the root cause of instability and disruptions to maritime trade and navigation through the Strait of Hormuz” as “the U.S.-Israeli regime war of aggression against Iran in flagrant violation of the UN Charter and international law.”
“Prior to this aggression, commercial navigation through
the strait proceeded without disruption,” he said.
Darzi said the United States and Israel launched an “unlawful war” against Iran on Feb. 28, causing grave consequences for regional and international peace and security.
The terrorist attack, he said, resulted in the assassination and martyrdom of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, several senior Iranian officials and more than 3,400 civilians, including hundreds of women and children.
He also cited the Islamabad memorandum of understanding signed on June 17, saying it expressly required the United States to refrain from threatening or using force against Iran.
Washington, he said, breached the agreement by launching another military aggression on June 27.
Iran reserves the right to pursue accountability, reparation and redress over unlawful acts, Darzi said, reaffirming its inherent right to self-defense.
“Iran’s measures are lawful and defensive in nature,” he said.
“Any arrangements concerning the Strait of Hormuz can only be established, regulated and managed by its littoral states, namely Iran and Oman.”
Warning against allowing unlawful U.S. measures to become an accepted precedent, Darzi said: “What is at stake is the integrity of international law. If such unlawful acts are allowed to go unchallenged, it would set a dangerous precedent.”