Iran's ambassador to the UN has rejected US and Israeli accusations of destabilizing activities against Tehran, saying they aim to shield Israel and "perpetuate impunity for its crimes".
The accusations are “entirely groundless, devoid of any credibility, and serve as nothing more than a calculated attempt to distract the international community from the unfolding Israeli genocidal war, war crimes, and mass atrocities against the Palestinian people in Gaza,” Amir Saeid Iravani said.
“They also aim to obscure the United States' undeniable complicity in these crimes and its steadfast support for Israel’s destabilizing and malign activities across the region," he added.
Iravani's response on Friday came in identical letters addressed to UN chief António Guterres and the rotating president of the Security Council Christina Markus Lassen after the US and Israel accused Iran of destabilizing activities and supporting terrorism.
Iravani said Washington's "unwavering political, military, and financial support has emboldened Israel to commit egregious crimes with absolute impunity".
"The baseless allegations against the Islamic Republic of Iran are, therefore, nothing but a desperate attempt to obstruct the Security Council from shouldering its responsibility, deflect attention from the truth, shield Israel from accountability, and perpetuate impunity for its crimes.”
The accusations, he said, once again highlight the hostile policy of the US administration towards the Islamic Republic, and affirm that Washington disregards the realities on the ground and continues to make false accusations against Tehran.
Iravani hit out at the US for manipulating the Security Council to advance its "political agenda and falsely depicting Iran as a threat to international peace and security” through its nuclear program.
“I must emphasize that Iran’s nuclear activities are entirely peaceful and fully compliant with its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. In stark contrast, the United States remains the only country to have ever used nuclear weapons, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity,” he said.
Iravani then lambasted Washington’s evident double standards and hypocrisy in its continued silence on Israel’s undeclared nuclear arsenal and its failure to address Israel’s repeated threats to use weapons of mass destruction against the Palestinian people in Gaza.
Such an approach, he said, exposes how the non-proliferation issue serves merely as a political tool for the United States.