A senior Iranian diplomat has dismissed Israel’s allegation at the United Nations that Tehran is “destabilizing” the Middle East, saying such propaganda against the Islamic Republic is meant to shift attention away from the regime’s occupation agenda and other crimes.
At a session of the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, Iran’s representative reacted to hostile comments by the Israeli envoy, who claimed Tehran was pursuing the goal of destabilizing the Middle East and sought to “derail the Middle East and any prospect of genuine dialogue in the Assembly hall.”
“Israel has brought about anger throughout the region and is the top spoiler of international peace and security,” the Iranian representative told the session. “Its propaganda against Iran has always been a smokescreen to divert public opinion from its own land-grabbing schemes and other crimes.”
The Iranian official also responded to the Israeli envoy’s complaint about Tehran’s support for Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the resistance group’s influential role in its homeland.
He said Israel was playing the “victim card” while pursuing apartheid policies and war crimes, particularly those against the Palestinian people, which have been documented by the United Nations.
Pointing to Israel’s 11-day bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip in May, the Iranian diplomat stated that the Tel Aviv regime committed crimes not only against Palestinians but against all freedom-loving countries of the world.
“The General Assembly has a responsibility to condemn Israel’s aggression and ethnic cleansing and hold it accountable for its war crimes and crimes against humanity,” he said.
In the latest bombardment campaign, at least 260 Palestinians, including over 60 children, were killed in a time span of 11 days that began on May 10. The Gaza-based resistance movements retaliated.
The regime was eventually forced to announce a ceasefire, brokered by Egypt, which came into force in the early hours of May 21.
The Gaza Strip, home to some two million people, has been under a blockade imposed by Israel since June 2007.
Iran diplomat rejects Morocco, UAE claims over a trio of Persian Gulf islands
At the same session, the Iranian diplomat dismissed the claims of the United Arab Emirates and Morocco about Emirati “sovereignty” over three Persian Gulf islands, reaffirming that the “islands in question have been an integral part of Iran for thousands of years.”
He added that the UAE delegation made such an “irrelevant claim “to advance its country’s political aims in the Persian Gulf region.”
The UAE representative claimed that Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunb islands are an integral part of her country’s territory, accusing Iran of the occupation of the trio islands.
She voiced the UAE’s readiness to engage positively with Iran to settle the dispute through direct negotiations or the International Court of Justice.
In turn, the Moroccan representative reiterated his country’s support for the United Arab Emirates’ claim over Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunb islands, in a statement that the Iranian envoy slammed as “flagrant interference” in Iran’s domestic affairs.
Iran pursues a policy of friendship and good neighborliness, he said, adding Tehran stands ready to engage in bilateral talks with the United Arab Emirates.
Iran has repeatedly reiterated its sovereignty over the three Persian Gulf islands, saying those territories have always been and will always remain Iranian.
The strategically-positioned islands of the Greater Tunb, the Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa have always been part of Iran, the proof of which can be found in and corroborated by countless historical, legal, and geographical documents in Iran and other parts of the world. However, the United Arab Emirates has repeatedly laid baseless claims to the islands.
