UN failure to stop Iranian attack sends ‘dangerous signal’: Qatar | US-Israel war over Iran news

Qatar’s ambassador to the UN has condemned Iran’s drone, missile strikes across the Gulf as a ‘flagrant violation of international law’.

Qatar has called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to take immediate steps to stop Iranian attacks on countries across the Middle East, warning that failure to act would send a “dangerous signal”.

Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani, Qatar’s ambassador to the UN, on Wednesday condemned Iran’s missile and drone strikes as “clear violations of international law and the UN Charter”.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s continued targeting of our territory does not reflect good faith and deeply affects the foundation of understanding on which bilateral relations between our countries have been built,” he told reporters at UN headquarters in New York.

“The Security Council must act (and) fulfill its responsibility. Failure to respond sends a dangerous signal that an attack against an unaffiliated neighbor will have no consequences,” he said.

His comments came shortly before the Security Council voted in favor of a draft resolution condemning a wave of Iranian attacks on Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

Iranian forces began firing ballistic missiles and drones at United States and Israeli targets across the Middle East after the two countries launched a war against Iran on February 28.

But Iranian strikes have targeted civilian infrastructure, disrupted energy production and grounded flights for days, particularly in Gulf countries.

The U.S. has confirmed the loss of eight U.S. service members in Iranian attacks since the war began, while deaths have been reported by several regional countries, including Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

At least 1,255 people have been killed in US-Israeli strikes across Iran, which Iranian officials say have targeted schools, hospitals and oil facilities, as well as thousands of residential buildings.

The rising death toll has sparked international concern and calls for de-escalation, but the war has so far shown no signs of abating.

Iranian drones target Gulf oil facilities

Gulf leaders and their Western allies have condemned the Iranian attack, despite Tehran’s attempts to reassure countries in the region that it only targets US and Israeli interests.

On Wednesday, ⁠Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said condemned the attacks on the country’s territory in a call with Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian, the Omani state news agency said.

The call came shortly after Omani officials confirmed drones had hit fuel tanks in the port of Salalah, causing damage but no casualties.

Al Jazeera’s Dmitry Medvedenko, reporting from the Qatari capital Doha, said the Salalah attack had caused a fire and a large plume of smoke.

But Medvedenko noted that “the Omani State News Agency, citing officials from the Ministry of Energy, said there was no damage to the flow of energy-products in the country” or the continuity of oil supplies.

Elsewhere in the region, Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry said it had intercepted and destroyed a drone flying towards the Shaiba oilfield, but Emirati officials said they were responding to a new wave of Iranian attacks.

The UAE’s defense ministry said in a social media post that its air defense systems were “intercepting ballistic missiles”, while warplanes were responding to “drones and stray munitions”.

Qatar responded to more Iranian fire on Wednesday, saying it had foiled three waves of missile strikes.