US Criticized for Calling SC Meeting on Iran

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

The UN Charter authorizes the Security Council to investigate and act on events threatening international peace and security.

Its adopted resolutions are binding international law, UN Charter Article 25 stating:

"The Members of the United Nations agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council in accordance with the present Charter."

Washington has a disturbing habit of using the Security Council as a platform for and instrument of its own geopolitical agenda - its imperial aim to achieve unchallenged global dominance.

Neocon US envoy to the UN Nikki Haley committed a strategic blunder by calling for a special SC session on Iran, relating to days of (foreign orchestrated) violent protests in the country, aiming to destabilize it, a step toward Washington's goal of replacing its sovereign government with pro-Western puppet rule - by color revolution, war or other sinister means, a flagrant violation of international law, including the UN Charter.

Haley's Friday anti-Iran rant was an embarrassment for the office she holds. Paul Craig Roberts calls her "an imbecile" for good reason.

Haley: "In the past week, what has happened on the ground throughout the nation of Iran is something the world must take note of." 

"It is a spontaneous expression of fundamental human rights. The Iranian people are rising up in over 79 locations throughout the country." 

"It is a powerful exhibition of brave people who have become so fed up with their oppressive government that they're willing to risk their lives in protest."

Fact: Days of violent protests were orchestrated, not "spontaneous." Relatively small numbers turned out in many locations, somewhat larger ones in others. No location drew huge crowds.

Fact: Earlier Security Council sanctions related to Iran's nuclear program were lifted following consummation of the JCPOA nuclear deal.

Fact: Illegal US ones unrelated to the nuclear deal remain in place, harming the country's economy, causing enormous hardships for ordinary people - hardly a reason for protesters to lethally shoot Iranians, foreign recruited assassins responsible for what happened.

Fact: Throughout the country, a few tens of thousands participated in protests overall - small numbers compared to 2009. 

Fact: Iran is a nation of 80 million people. A tiny fraction of the population participated in street protests. Huge numbers turned out supportively, dwarfing in size the anti-government elements.

Fact: Public sentiment in the country strongly supports the government, overwhelmingly opposes foreign interference, especially by Washington and Israel.

Fact: Iranians aren't oppressed. Even the nation's small Jewish population is treated fairly in a predominantly Muslim nation.

Fact: Washington and Israel oppose Iran's sovereign independence, its opposition to US imperial wars and Israeli persecution of Palestinians.

Fact: The Islamic Republic stands in the way of their regional dominance - why they seek regime change.

Fact: Haley's SC rant was rejected by other Council members - notably Russia, China, Britain and France, the latter two countries close US allies, imperial partners, yet critical of Washington's position on days of violent street protests - an internal affair to resolve, not an issue for the SC to address.

Russia's UN envoy Vasily Nebenzya minced no words, saying:

"Regrettably, today we are witnesses again to how the United States misuses the platform of the UN Security Council."

"Why does the US, a permanent member of the Security Council and one of the co-authors of the UN Charter, undermine the authority of the UN Security Council as the main body responsible for maintaining international peace and security?" 

"It is clear to one and all that the proposed theme for discussion does not correlate with Security Council's prerogatives."

Addressing Haley directly, Nebenzya added:

"Instead of focusing on the solution of acute crises in Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Iraq, Yemen, North Korea and Africa, you suggest meddling in the internal affairs of other states." 

"We do not want to be accomplices to destabilization in Iran or elsewhere."

Security Council members should "discuss in detail the Middle East settlement, including the Palestinian issue."

"If your logic is to be followed, Security Council meetings should have been called after the well-known events in Ferguson, Missouri, or when violence was used against Occupy Wall Street demonstrations on Manhattan."

Nebenzya concluded saying "(w)hy has the United States resorted to such a move today, when the internal political situation in Iran has normalized?"

China's deputy UN envoy Liu Jieyi stressed "(t)he Iranian situation does not pose any threat on international peace or security, nor is it on the agenda of the Security Council." 

"Discussing this domestic situation in Iran by the Council is a practice that is not in line with the Council's responsibility as outlined in the UN charter. Doing so does not help resolve the domestic issue of Iran."

Iranian UN envoy Gholamali Khoshroo said his country has "hard evidence" that protests were "very clearly directed from abroad," adding:

"It is unfortunate that despite the resistance on the part of some of its members, this council has allowed itself to be abused by the current US administration in holding a meeting on an issue that falls outside the scope of its mandate."

France's François Delattre said "(h)owever worrying the events of the last few days in Iran may be, they do not constitute per se a threat to international peace and security." 

"We must be wary of any attempts to exploit this crisis for personal ends, which would have the diametrically opposed outcome to that which is wished."

Britain's Matthew Rycoft "encourage(d) all member states to uphold all their commitments" - including to the JCPOA nuclear deal, adding: "A prosperous, stable Iran is beneficial to all."

Haley's strategy backfired. Friday's session ended with egg on the Trump administration's face and hers.

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