Russia on Monday accused the US of aggression against Iraq and Syria aimed at preserving its global dominance and the “image” of US President Joe Biden’s administration’s ahead of the US elections.
The US retorted that its military response to unjustified attacks by Iranian-backed proxies against US forces is not only legal, but would continue.
The exchange came at a contentious UN Security Council meeting called by Russia, Syria’s closest ally, where both countries also said they did not want an escalation and spillover of the Israel-Hamas war. Many council members expressed fears of a growing Mideast conflict, and urged de-escalation and stepped-up peace efforts.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia accused the US of breaching international law and continuing “to sow chaos and destruction in the Middle East.”
He said violence by the US and its allies has escalated from the Palestinian territories to Lebanon, the Red Sea and Yemen, and is “nullifying international efforts to re-establish peace in the Middle East.”
He urged all countries “to unequivocally condemn these senseless acts ... which violate the sovereignty of Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic.”
The US is attempting “to flex muscles ... to justify and salvage the image of the current American administration ... in the light of the upcoming presidential pre-election campaign,” he added.
US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood said the US has an absolute right to self-defense against attacks on US forces, and the actions it has taken were “necessary and proportionate.”
He told the council that since Oct. 18, Iran-aligned militia groups have attacked US and coalition forces more than 165 times in Iraq, Syria and in a drone attack on a Jordanian facility hosting US forces fighting Islamic State extremists on Jan. 28 that killed three US Army members and injured many more.
The US on Friday responded with 85 airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, which both countries claimed resulted in civilian deaths, injuries and property destruction. The two nations condemned the attacks as violations of their sovereignty – as their ambassadors did again at Monday’s council meeting.
Wood said that the US does not want more conflict in a region where it is “actively working to contain and de-escalate the conflict in Gaza.”
“And we are not seeking a direct conflict with Iran,” Wood said. “But we will continue to defend our personnel against unacceptable attacks. Period.”
He accused Iran of failing “to rein in its extremist proxies.”
The US calls on the 14 other council members, especially those with direct channels to Iran, “to press Iranian leaders to rein in their militias and stop these attacks,” Wood said. “They should also press the Syrian regime to stop giving Iran a platform to destabilize the region.”
Iranian Ambassador to the UN Amir Saeid Iravani countered that “all of the resistance group in the region are independent,” and said they have legitimate rights to end “the illegal” US presence in Iraq and Syria, stop the killings in Gaza and end Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
“Therefore, any attempt to attribute these actions to Iran or its armed forces is misleading, baseless and unacceptable,” Iravani said, adding that Tehran has never sought to contribute to a spillover of the conflict, has no military presence in Iraq and has military advisors in Syria at the government’s invitation to fight terrorism.
He rejected claims that Iranian bases in Iraq and Syria were attacked, calling the allegations “unfounded” and attempts “to shift attention away from the US aggressive actions.”
UN Undersecretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo briefed the council, urging all parties to heed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ call “to step back from the brink and to consider the unbearable human and economic cost of a potential regional conflict.”
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