Iran on Monday responded to UN, saying that criticism should be directed at those “aggressors accountable for their egregious violations of international law” rather than at Tehran for exercising its right to self-defence.
Rejecting the UN’s description of the ongoing hostilities with the United States as a “military confrontation,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran’s strikes on US military bases and assets in the southern Persian Gulf were a “legitimate and lawful exercise” of Iran’s right to self-defence under international law.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “deeply concerned by the serious escalation,” urging an end to all attacks.
Responding to calls for restraint from António Guterres, Baqaei urged countries in the region to stop allowing their territories to be used for US military operations against Iran. He accused the international community of failing to hold what he described as the “aggressors” accountable.
He said the strikes were a “continuation of a blatant and unprovoked act of aggression” initiated on February 28 by the United States and Israel. Baqaei said, “Iran does not ‘attack.’ Iran’s strikes on US military bases and assets stationed in the southern Persian Gulf constitute a legitimate and lawful exercise of its inherent right to self-defence under international law.”
“It is far from responsible to blame Iran for defending its sovereignty while failing to hold the aggressors accountable for their egregious violations of international law,” the Iranian spokesperson said.
“By the way, it is ‘Persian Gulf’; please be loyal to the UN directives (notably those of August 18, 1994, and May 14, 1999) mandating the use of the full term ‘Persian Gulf’ in all UN texts,” he added.
The remarks came after Guterres called on Iran and the United States to urgently resume negotiations amid escalating strikes in the Gulf region, warning that continued hostilities could have serious consequences for regional stability and the global economy.
Baqaei also objected to the use of the term “Gulf” in references to the waterway, insisting on the use of “Persian Gulf” and citing Iran’s interpretation of UN naming practices.
A statement issued by his spokesperson called on all combatants “to exercise maximum restraint, avoid further escalatory action and take immediate steps to de-escalate.”
The Secretary-General reiterated that a return to full-scale hostilities would have catastrophic consequences “for the peoples of the region” and beyond, as well as for the global economy.
The uptick in fighting and the end of the fragile ceasefire negotiated last month have seen energy prices rise, while shipping through the strait between Iran and Oman has once again ground to a halt.
This has left around 6,000 seafarers stranded aboard scores of vessels. The head of the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) called for all transit through the strait to be avoided, saying earlier this week that this should continue “until the necessary safety conditions are in place.”
UN chief Guterres added that “full freedom of navigation” must be restored in the Strait of Hormuz, where three merchant ships were reportedly struck the previous Tuesday, despite the June 17 Memorandum of Understanding between Tehran and Washington.
“The Secretary-General urges Iran and the United States to urgently resume negotiations and to address outstanding issues through diplomacy,” UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said.
