United Nations | Israel and Iran accuse each other of being “the” threat to peace

(United Nations) Israel and Iran accused each other at the UN on Sunday of being the main threat to peace in the Middle East, each calling on the Security Council to impose sanctions against their sworn enemy.

“The mask has fallen. Iran, the world’s leading supporter of terrorism, has exposed its true face as a destabilizer of the region and the world,” Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan said at an emergency meeting of the Security Council convened on his initiative after Tehran’s unprecedented attack on Israel.

“The mask has fallen, we must put on the gloves,” he added, calling on the Security Council to “act”.

He thus asked him to designate the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic, as a “terrorist organization”, and to “impose all possible sanctions against Iran before it is too late”.

He made particular reference to the “snapback” mechanism which allows members of the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement – ​​from which the United States left in 2018 – to reimpose international sanctions against Tehran, then lifted in exchange of the Iranian commitment not to carry out nuclear activities for military purposes.

“We have a collective responsibility as members of the Security Council to ensure that Iran respects the resolutions of the Council and stops its violations of the Charter” of the UN, underlined for his part the ambassador of the United States. United Deputy Robert Wood.

“In the coming days, in consultations with other member states, the United States will consider additional measures to hold Iran accountable here at the United Nations,” he added.

According to the Israeli army, Iran sent “a swarm of 300 killer drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles” during the night from Saturday to Sunday. An attack that the Israelis claim to have largely foiled.

Iran justified its attack dubbed “Honest Promise” in response to the strike on 1^er April against his consulate in Damascus. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied this strike which cost the lives of seven members of the Revolutionary Guards.

“On the edge of the precipice”

“The Security Council failed in its duty” by not condemning the strike of 1^er April, said Iranian Ambassador to the UN Amir Saeid Iravani. And “under these conditions, the Islamic Republic of Iran had no other choice than to exercise its right to self-defense,” he added, assuring that Tehran did not want an escalation, but would respond to “any threat or aggression”.

He also strongly attacked Israel.

“It is time for the Security Council to assume its responsibilities and confront the real threat to international peace and security,” he said. The Council “must take urgent punitive measures to force this regime to stop the genocide against the people of Gaza.”

Iran’s attack on Israel came more than six months after the start of Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip against the Iranian-backed Palestinian Hamas, which further increased tensions between the two enemy countries.

Since the Iranian revolution of 1979, Israel has been the sworn enemy of the Islamic Republic, which calls for its destruction. But until now, Tehran had refrained from attacking Israel head-on and the two countries were used to confronting each other through third parties, such as the Lebanese Hezbollah.

Most Council members on Sunday called for “restraint” to avoid further escalation in the region.

“Neither the region nor the world can afford more war,” said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

“The Middle East is on the precipice. The populations of the region face a real danger of devastating widespread conflict. This is the time for defusing and de-escalation,” he insisted. “Now is the time to show maximum restraint.”

“It is vital to avoid any action that could lead to major military confrontations on multiple fronts in the Middle East,” he added, condemning both the Iranian attack on Israel and the strike on the consulate Iranian in Damascus.