135 countries sponsored a UN Security Council draft resolution demanding an end to Iran’s attacks on Gulf states.
The United Nations Security Council passed a draft resolution condemning Iran’s attacks on Gulf states and Jordan, demanding an immediate cessation of hostilities from Tehran.
Thirteen of the 15 members of the UNSC on Wednesday voted in favor of the resolution sponsored by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and co-sponsored by an extraordinary 135 other UN member states.
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No countries voted against the draft.
“It was overwhelming. It was 13 votes in the council in favor, two abstentions,” Al Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizando reported from UN headquarters in New York.
“Both China and Russia decided not to use their veto power to block this resolution, probably because it has more support not only in the Security Council but also with other member states – 135 other countries have now adopted this resolution,” Elizando said.
“We believe this is the largest number of countries that have cooperated in a draft Security Council resolution,” he said.
The resolution condemns Iran’s attacks, calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and condemns Tehran’s targeting of infrastructure such as ports and energy facilities in the Gulf region.
“The decision is very clear; it is now part of international law. The question becomes, will Iran abide by it? We will find out in the coming hours and days,” Elizando said.
‘deep regret’
After the vote, Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir-Sayed Iravani addressed the council, expressing his “deep regret” over the passage of the resolution.
“This is a deeply regrettable day for the Security Council and the international community. Today’s adoption is a serious setback to the Council’s credibility and will leave a lasting stain on its record,” Iravani said.
“Today’s action represents a flagrant abuse of a Security Council mandate,” he said, blasting the United States for launching the conflict, including its “barbaric war against the Iranian people” and the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
“This resolution is a clear injustice against my country, a major victim of blatant aggression. It distorts the reality on the ground and willfully ignores the root causes of the current crisis,” Iravani said, accusing the US and Israel of being behind the resolution.
More than 1,348 civilians have been killed and more than 17,000 injured since the US and Israel launched their attacks on February 28, including the “massacre of 170 schoolgirls in Minab,” Iravani said.
More than 19,000 civilian sites, including residential houses and hospitals, were damaged, he said.
Addressing the council, Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzia, said his country abstained from voting on the draft resolution “because it is extremely unbalanced” and does not serve the purpose of “serving international peace and security”.
“We regret the situation in which Middle Eastern countries find themselves. Furthermore, we think it is unacceptable to strike the civilian infrastructure of the Arab states in the Gulf,” Nebenzia said.
Zhang Jun, China’s ambassador to the UN, told the council that the conflict had “no legitimacy or legal basis” and that the US and Israel should stop their attacks to prevent further deterioration of the regional situation.
The UNSC also voted on, but failed to adopt, a draft resolution tabled by Moscow on Wednesday calling on all sides to halt military action in the Middle East.
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