Statement by the Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at a UNSC Briefing Following US Strikes on Iran
Madam President,
We are grateful to the presidency of Guyana for promptly convening today's UNSC meeting to discuss extremely dangerous developments in the Middle East, which have been further exacerbated by the overnight US strikes targeting Iranian sites. We would like to thank UN Secretary-General António Guterres for his keynote address, as well as Miroslav Jenča and Rafael Grossi for their briefings.
Russia vehemently condemns the irresponsible, dangerous, and provocative actions taken by the USA against the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI), which is a sovereign country and a UN member state. As is well known, in the early hours of June 22, the US Air Force, in full cooperation and coordination with the Israeli Air Force (which for over a week now has been conducting massive strikes on civilian targets and infrastructure in Iran in violation of the basic principles of international law) delivered unprovoked missile and bomb strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities, which were under IAEA safeguards, namely Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan. In doing so, Washington has yet again demonstrated its complete disregard for the position of the international community and reasserted that to advance the interests of its Israeli ally, it is prepared not only to turn a blind eye to the killings of tens of thousands of Palestinian women, children, and elderly people, but also to gamble with the safety and well-being of all humanity. Through its actions, the US has opened Pandora's box, and no one knows what new consequences this may lead to.
Over the past ten days, we heard already three briefings by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi; he warned that strikes on Iranian nuclear infrastructure are fraught with completely unpredictable repercussions and will jeopardize nuclear safety and security not only in Iran but also in the region and the entire world. However, Washington is completely unconcerned about either the radiological consequences or the threat to the lives and health of a huge number of civilians, including women and children, in the region and beyond. Much like West Jerusalem, Washington sees itself as the highest judge in the land vested with the right to deliver justice at its sole discretion. Thus, the US reaffirms that in order to preserve its global hegemony, it is ready to commit any crimes and violations of international law. Let me remind you that no one has ever authorized the US to undertake such actions. We have persistently offered our American colleagues our mediation services so as to find a peaceful and mutually agreeable solution to the contradictions surrounding the Iranian nuclear program. But it appears that diplomacy is not what our US colleagues currently need. Responsibility for all this falls squarely on the shoulders of the American leadership. Especially given that the US leadership has not only publicly acknowledged the responsibility for these actions, but actually flaunted them, demonstrating utter contempt for the norms of international law and the UN Charter, as well Security Council resolutions, including resolutions 487 (1981) and 2231 (2015), and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Madam President,
Just two days ago, here in this very chamber, we heard many delegations (including the closest allies of the US) calling for de-escalation and resolution of differences through negotiations. However, our US colleagues once again ignored this position of the entire international community, taking cues from Israel instead of reining it in and forcing it to curb the spiral of escalation.
Today, we are once again hearing cynical statements from US representatives about their readiness to return to negotiations, as if there were no nighttime strikes using heavy payload munitions against Iran. Obviously, this is being done in order to subsequently hypocritically portray Tehran as a “spoiler” of the negotiation process, who is allegedly undermining stability in the Middle East.
Yet, we believe that none of sensible members of the international community will believe our American colleagues any more. Nor will they believe the US attempts to convince the Security Council that Iran was trying to acquire nuclear weapons. I would like to remind you that back in March, high-ranking US intelligence officials claimed that the US had no information about Tehran's attempts to develop military nuclear capabilities. I imagine that many people today are experiencing a nagging sense of déjà vu. Let me remind you how, back in 2003, in this very chamber, US Secretary of State Colin Powell was waving around a vial to justify Washington's plans to invade the territory of another sovereign state – this was done only to plunge the people of that country into decades of chaos and find no weapons of mass destruction there. Today's situation is essentially no different: yet again, we are being asked to believe US’s fairy tales in order to once again inflict suffering on millions of people living in the Middle East. This cements our conviction that our US colleagues have learned nothing from history.
We regret that some of you in this chamber today have not summoned and cannot summon the courage to call a spade a spade and condemn Washington's actions. We feel weird participating in this theater of absurd and cynicism: we saw a representative of the UK calling on Iran to exercise restraint, even though it is precisely Iran that was subjected to that unprovoked attack and bombardment of its nuclear facilities. As if it had been Iran, not Israel and the United States, that had escalated the situation to the utmost extent. There are also other Council members that are calling on Iran to show restraint. We have seen a lot of hypocrisy in this chamber, but this takes the biscuit. It is a striking example of hypocrisy on the part of those who have been stirring up tensions in recent days over resolution 2231, which is about to expire.
Madam President,
Over the past week, we have witnessed a new and extremely dangerous wave of escalation. After what happened last night, the situation became wholly unprecedented in nature. The radiological repercussions of the American attacks are yet to be assessed, and we expect the IAEA and its Director General to provide a clear-cut, professional, and impartial analysis of the situation, including by presenting an objective report at the emergency session of the IAEA Board of Governors. However, it is already clear that the attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities, including those carried out by one of the NPT depositaries (namely, the United States), deal a colossal blow to the global non-proliferation regime. Not only do these attacks undermine the credibility of the IAEA and that of the entire system of verification and control by the Agency, but they also disrupt the very foundations of international cooperation in this area, which is liable to cast us back into an era of uncontrolled nuclear risks. It seems that this is precisely what Washington and West Jerusalem are seeking.
As a responsible state and a UNSC permanent member, Russia cannot support such a scenario. Under the NPT, Iran has the right to develop its civilian nuclear program, and tonight the US has de facto nullified years of diplomatic efforts aimed at upholding this fundamental principle. Agreeing with the legality of US actions would be tantamount to discarding all advances of the international community on this front. And since we have talked so much today about the importance of the NPT and the global non-proliferation regime, I would like to remind you that Israel never acceded to the NPT. Accordingly, there is no comprehensive program of IAEA inspections vis-à-vis Israel. Iran, on the other hand, was and remains the most inspected IAEA state in the world; but instead of getting support for taking such a stance, Iran has its territory and peaceful citizens being bombed, which is being done by a country that has in principle – I repeat – refused to sign the NPT. This is an outrageous and cynical situation, and we are surprised that the IAEA Director General has not said a word about it. Nor has he ever called on Israel to join the NPT.
Madam President,
I think it is obvious to everyone in this chamber that unless we stop the escalation, the Middle East will find itself on the brink of a large-scale conflict, which is fraught with unpredictable consequences for the entire international security architecture. And the whole world could find itself on the verge of a nuclear catastrophe. We call for an immediate cessation of aggressive actions by Israel and the United States, and we urge all parties to exercise restraint and return into the fold of international diplomacy and negotiations.
But appeals from UN Security Council members alone are not enough. Under the provisions of the UN Charter (which is something that those who are hypocritically silent today zealously call to comply with when it comes to other countries) the UN Security Council is simply duty bound to craft a collective decision that would bar strikes against Iranian peaceful nuclear infrastructure facilities under the IAEA safeguards. To this end, we need first and foremost a clear-cut legal and political assessment of what happened. For all those who do not pursue any “hidden agenda” or “double standards,” this is absolutely obvious.
To this end, the Russian Federation, China, and Pakistan prepared and circulated this morning a concise and balanced UNSC draft resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and for a search for a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear program. The language reflects the positions of the overwhelming majority of UNSC members, as expressed during our meetings held on June 13 and 20.
We count on the support of all members of the Council so that we could send a message as soon as possible about the need to immediately end the violence, which is something, inter alia, that the UN Secretary-General has once again called for today.
Without a clear and principled position from the Council, further escalation is inevitable. We urge all members of the Security Council to adopt a responsible approach and support the proposed draft resolution.
Thank you.
