Statement by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at UNSC Briefing on Israeli attacks on Iran
Madam President,
We thank the Swiss presidency for promptly convening the UNSC emergency meeting on the situation in the Middle East that we requested along with the delegations of Algeria and China. We are grateful to Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari for his briefing on another round of escalation in the Arab-Israeli conflict. We have taken note of the letter circulated the previous day by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr. Abbas Araghchi, containing information on what happened.
As we are all well aware, on the night of October 25-26, the Israeli Air Force delivered strikes coordinated with the United States against a number of targets in the Iranian provinces of Tehran, Ilam and Khuzestan, as a result of which four Iranian servicemen were killed. Had it not been for the successful operation of Iran’s air defense system, which was on high alert, the number of casualties and injuries, primarily among civilians, would have been entirely different.
Unfortunately, this escalation was quite predictable, and the Israeli authorities made no secret in recent weeks of the fact that they had been preparing to strike objects in IRI. At the same time, far from trying to talk West Jerusalem out of this extremely dangerous venture, the USA and a number of its allies stated, directly or indirectly, that Israel supposedly had the right to act like that. In doing so, they acted extremely irresponsibly, since they deliberately provoked a new spiral of escalation in the Middle East instead of trying to make the protagonists refrain from new exchanges of blows. Moreover, as far as we can see, Washington also provided West Jerusalem with the intelligence information necessary for the strikes.
Not only does this attack violate the principles of international law, but also destabilizes the already highly charged situation in the Middle East that is already teetering on the brink of a full-blown war. In that context, we are deeply concerned about the persistent and increasingly explosive escalation between Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran, which poses real threats to stability and security in the region. We urgently call on all parties involved to exercise restraint, cease violence and do their utmost to avert a catastrophic scenario. It is important for all protagonists to find the strength and wisdom to finally get out of this spiraling uncontrolled escalation.
We are extremely disappointed that these are by no means the first air attacks by West Jerusalem against countries in the region. Since the very beginning of the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian confrontation, Israeli air force has repeatedly bombed Syrian and Lebanese cities. Moreover, West Jerusalem committed a number of political assassinations, including that of Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and a number of other leaders of movements that are in opposition to Israel. By these eliminations, Jerusalem is trying by hook or by crook to draw Iran – which is showing exceptional for such circumstances restraint – in confrontation. It is difficult to escape the feeling that West Jerusalem is intentionally raising tensions, despite Tehran’s signals of its readiness to refrain from further spiraling confrontation.
We believe that such aggressive actions on the part of Israel aimed at stoking the flames of war are absolutely unacceptable and must be stopped. We urge West Jerusalem to abandon the practice of provocative military actions in the Middle East, which are fraught with extremely dangerous risks and repercussions for the entire region, which is already destabilized due to the incessant over a year-long escalation around the Gaza Strip.
Madam President,
The members of the UN Security Council have must fight tooth and nail to prevent the Middle East region from tumbling into a new major war against the background of Israel's ongoing military operation in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. We are extremely concerned by the ongoing disregard of the position of the entire international community in favor of an immediate ceasefire, which the Israeli leadership is showing with the connivance of the United States. Once again, we have to reiterate that West Jerusalem is not ready to give up on its choice to resolve all conflict situations with the neighbors exclusively by force. Israel’s determination to act this way is fed by its American allies who provide full support and political cover for the Israeli leadership, supply them with weapons and block any attempts by responsible members of the UN Security Council to stop the Israeli military machine that ruthlessly destroys civilians, thus preventing the region from sliding into a major war.
Obviously, the root causes of yet another spiral of violence in the Middle East lie in the failure to settle the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of the well-known UNSC and UNGA resolutions. In that connection, we believe that there is no alternative to a ceasefire in Gaza, which is to be followed by exchanging hostages and prisoners and ensuring unimpeded humanitarian access, which would be in line with the interests of all reasonable stakeholders both inside and outside the region. At the same time, we call on the United States to act responsibly while discharging the duties of a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and finally allow the main UN body entrusted with the task of maintaining international peace and security to use all the tools at its disposal to stop the conflict and implement the existing relevant resolutions on the Middle East settlement.
This is the only thing that can lay the foundation for relaunching the peaceful process for the settlement of the Palestinian question on an internationally recognized basis of the two-State solution, which we all have always supported. This is the only scenario that can keep the entire Middle East region from a large-scale confrontation, which may trigger the most catastrophic consequences for all States, including Israel.
Thank you for your attention.
