Iran says not responsible for any group’s actions in West Asia

Iravani made the comments in a letter addressed to the UN Security Council’s president on Monday.

The letter came three days after his American counterpart, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, wrote a letter to the Council, alleging that “militia groups affiliated with the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Armed Forces” were involved in “actions against US personnel and facilities in Iraq and Syria”.

Iravani asserted unequivocally that “there is no group affiliated with the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Armed Forces, whether in Iraq, Syria, or elsewhere that operates directly or indirectly under the control of the Islamic Republic of Iran or acts on its behalf.”

“Therefore, the Islamic Republic of Iran is not responsible for the actions of any individual or group within the region,” Iran’s UN ambassador added.

Over the past years, Iraq’s resistance groups have been staging numerous strikes against military bases housing American occupation forces in Iraq and neighboring Syria.

The strikes have increased in intensity since October 7, 2023, when the Israeli regime, Washington’s main regional ally, launched a US-backed genocidal war against the Gaza Strip. So far, the regime’s onslaught has claimed the lives of more than 26,600 civilians, mostly women and children, leaving more than 65,300 others injured.

Meanwhile, the US has been deploying its forces and military equipment to Syria and Iraqi without a UN mandate and under the pretext of fighting terrorist groups, including Daesh. The Takfiri terrorist group had emerged as Washington was running out of excuses to extend its regional meddling or enlarge it in scale.

American forces have maintained their illegal presence in both countries, despite vociferous protests from their people and top officials, who have been persistently calling on Washington to withdraw its troops

Referring to US presence in those countries, Iran’s ambassador said, “…the actions undertaken by the United States in Syria and Iraq are illegal and violate both international law and the UN Charter…. Consequently, the US notification submitted to the Security Council in the aforementioned letter … lacks a legal foundation and fails to legitimize such actions.”

Iravani’s letter came after Iran’s permanent mission to the UN reaffirmed in a late Sunday statement that the country has no links to attacks on US forces in the region.

The mission’s statement was published after a drone attack on a US base located on Jordan’s border with Syria killed three American servicemen.

The statement said Iran had no link to the attack, adding that the incident was part of the “conflict between the army of the United States of America and resistance groups in the region, which reciprocate retaliatory attacks”.