Picture Credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elias
The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution cosponsored by India condemning ‘in the strongest terms’ Iran’s attacks on its neighbours in West Asia.
The resolution passed on Wednesday (local time) after Russia and China refrained from using their veto power despite expressing concerns about the draft. With the two countries abstaining, the remaining 13 members of the Council voted in favour.
The resolution had the backing of 135 cosponsoring countries and demanded that Iran immediately halt attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan.
Russia’s Permanent Representative said Moscow considered the resolution ‘biased and one-sided’, but chose not to block it.
“What suffers is not just the American bases that are located in these countries, but civilians and civilian infrastructure, which we do not appreciate,” he told reporters.
The abstentions by Russia and China were seen as highlighting Tehran’s growing isolation after its strikes on Gulf states and Jordan, which were not directly involved in the conflict but host US military bases.
The attacks also contributed to an energy crisis affecting economies worldwide.
A competing resolution introduced by Russia calls for an immediate end to the escalation and condemns attacks on civilians without naming any country. It failed to secure the required nine votes.
Pakistan joined China, Russia and Somalia in supporting it, while nine members abstained. The United States and Latvia voted against the proposal. The US vote did not amount to a veto because the draft did not reach the minimum votes required for adoption.
Global Reactions to the UN Resolution
Bahrain’s Permanent Representative Jamal Fares Alrowaiei, who proposed the resolution, said, “The international community is resolute in rejecting these Iranian unjust, hostile acts that are targeting sovereign countries and that threaten the stability of their peoples”.
Iran’s Permanent Representative Amir-Saeid Iravani criticised the Council’s decision, saying, “This resolution is a manifest injustice against my country, the main victim of a clear act of aggression”.
US Permanent Representative Mike Waltz said, “The atrocities that we’re seeing, the deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure, on ports, on airports, on energy production facilities, on hotels, on resorts across the Gulf are unacceptable.”
Israel’s envoy Danny Danon said the Council was losing patience with Iranian actions.
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