Pakistan backs Iran at Security Council, as Israel and US stick to their stance

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan on Friday warned that any war in the Middle would produce devastating consequences for the entire region, as the country’s permanent representative at the UN reiterated full support to Iran and the Iranian people.

On the other hand, Iran’s ambassador at the UN, Ali Bahreini, said his country was alarmed by the reports that the United States may be joining the ongoing war.

“Iran will continue to exercise the right to self-defence until Israeli aggression ends,” Bahreini made it clear.

Meanwhile, Israel’s representative said, “We will not stop until Iran’s nuclear threat is dismantled.”

The US ambassador to the United Nations, Dorothy Camille Shea, said the United States “continues to stand with Israel and supports its actions against Iran’s nuclear ambitions.”

“We can no longer ignore that Iran has all that it needs to achieve a nuclear weapon,” she said.

CONDEMN ISRAEL

Speaking at an emergency session, Asim Iftikhar presented Pakistan principled stance and said the UN Security Council must condemn the Israeli attacks on Iran.

He said the Israeli aggression was not only a violation of the UN Charter but also international law and a threat to the entire region. 

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Israel had violated Iran’s sovereignty, he told the gathering, as the Security Council met to find out ways and means to stop the war and thwart the attempts to expand the conflict.  

Pakistan is currently serving as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and has been vigorously advocating the Iranian case at the world stage.  

STOP INTERNATIONALISATION OF CONFLICT

In his address, the Russian representative said internalisation of Iran-Israel conflict must be avoided – the remarks in an obvious reference to Israel’s efforts to drag the US into the war.  

As Vasily Nebenzya, the Russian diplomat, called for immediate de-escalation, he said targeting of Iran’s peaceful civilian nuclear facilities was “liable to plunge us into a hither to unseen nuclear catastrophe.    

Read more: Israel admits ‘Bushehr hit’ mistake, as Russia says stop attacks instantly

He asked the UN Security Council to play its role for a ceasefire and demanded that Israel should stop the attacks immediately.  Targeting the innocent Iranian citizens was unacceptable, he made it clear.

SHOW RESTRAINT

On the other hand, Britain’s ambassador to the UN urged all parties to protect civilians and said restraint was vital to prevent further escalation.

“This is a dangerous moment for the entire region, and further escalation is in no one’s interest. Civilians must never be targeted, and we deplore the loss of civilian life,” Ambassador Barbara Woodword told the UN Security Council.

“Restraint is vital to protect further escalation and loss of life. Military action cannot put an end to Iran’s nuclear capabilities,” Woodword said.

A FIRE NO ONE CAN CONTROL

In his opening remarks UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that expansion of the Israel-Iran conflict could “ignite a fire no one can control” and called on both sides and potential parties to the conflict to “give peace a chance”.

Guterres said there were “moments when the directions taken will shape not just the fate of nations, but potentially our collective future”.

“This is such a moment,” he said.

He said expansion of the conflict would “ignite a fire that no one can control” and added: “We must not let that happen.”

“To the parties to the conflict, the potential parties to the conflict, and to the Security Council as the representative of the international community, I have a simple and clear message: give peace a chance,” Guterres said.

CAN GUARANTEE ‘WATERTIGHT’ INSPECTIONS

On the other hand, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog pleaded for a diplomatic solution to end Israel’s strikes on Iran, saying his agency could guarantee strict monitoring in any deal on putting Iranian nuclear technology under international control.

“The IAEA can guarantee through a watertight inspection system that nuclear weapons will not be developed in Iran,” Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the UN Security Council.

An attack on Iran’s Bushehr plant would be most serious, he said. “It is an operating nuclear power plant and hosts thousands of kilograms of nuclear material.”

“I want to make it absolutely and completely clear: In the case of an attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant, a direct hit would result in a very high release of radioactivity to the environment,” Grossi said.

“Similarly, a hit that disabled the only two lines supplying electrical power to the plant could cause its reactor’s core to melt.”

He said any action against the Tehran nuclear research reactor will also have severe consequences, “potentially for large areas of the city of Tehran and its inhabitants.”