Iranian FM says UN inaction prompted Tehran retaliatory measure against Israel

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Thursday amid a flurry of diplomatic talks and meetings in New York.

The Iranian foreign minister said the operation by the Iranian armed forces that hit the aggressor Zionist regime’s military positions was within the framework of legitimate defense and international law.

He said, “Although Iran could stage the operation in a wider scope, it targeted only that part of the Zionist regime’s military positions from where the strike on our country’s embassy in Damascus had been initiated.”

Amirabdollahian hailed the UN secretary general for his efforts to help the Palestinian people, but added, “The Security Council’s inefficiency and its failure to condemn the Israeli regime’s attack on the Iranian Embassy in Damascus made legitimate self-defense and punishment of the Zionist regime the only option left for my country.”

The Iranian foreign minister reiterated that the security of the region is of paramount importance for Iran, but noted that the Zionist regime, with the support by the US and its other allies, has waged a killing and genocidal campaign against the defenseless Palestinian children and women in Gaza.

Amirabdollahian lauded the UN secretary general for his ‘positive’ approach and efforts to cease the Gaza war and deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, stressing that Iran welcomes any initiative or effort by the UN secretary general that can help bring about lasting security in the region.

For his part, touching on Iran’s recent operation against the Israeli regime, the UN secretary general called on the parties to the conflict in the region to show continued restraint.

The UN secretary general once again flatly condemned any aggression against diplomatic missions and stressed that diplomatic premises should enjoy immunity.

Meanwhile, Guterres recalled the risks involved in expanding the scope of tensions in the region and asserted that the UN seeks to de-escalate the tension in the region and will do its utmost to help establish peace and security.

The UN secretary general pointed out, “Currently, the international community has focused on an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a quick end to the war.”