Iran will respond firmly if US gets directly involved in Israeli strikes, says UN ambassador

"For the moment, we are not thinking of any scenario other than defending ourselves," Iran's ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, said on Wednesday. Keystone-SDA

Iran says it will respond firmly to the United States if it becomes directly involved in Israel's military campaign, the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva said on Wednesday.

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“For the moment, we are not thinking of any scenario other than defending ourselves,” Iran’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, said.

“The United States is complicit,” he told reporters in the Swiss city. “Without them, Israel can do nothing.”

Iran is “closely monitoring” the US involvement in this affair and how this might change. The army will assess when it considers that Washington, which supports Israel militarily, can be considered a “direct” party to the conflict, Bahreini added. He said he was “confident that it will respond, firmly and appropriately”.

Israel launched its air war, its largest ever on Iran,
on Friday after saying it had concluded the Islamic Republic was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. Iran and Israel launched new missile strikes at each other on Wednesday as the air war between the two longtime enemies entered a sixth day despite a call from US President Donald Trump for Tehran’s unconditional surrender.

Swiss help welcomed in Tehran

Iran does not want to hear talk of negotiations for now, although it considers that it has participated “seriously” in recent discussions with the United States, said Bahreini. The ambassador nonetheless welcomed Switzerland’s “willingness to resolve tensions” with Washington, explaining that any initiative would be in vain unless Israel was “stopped”.

All our energy is being devoted “to defending ourselves”, insisted Bahreini, who suggested that several states were working to bring the parties together, although he did not know whether a “serious” offer had been made.

Denouncing Western countries’ political, financial and military support for Israel, he also added that “no one should expect Iran to show restraint”.

‘Military potential’

Despite the weakening of its allies in the region, the country says it is “confident about its military potential” in the medium term. “This is something we have been preparing for” for decades, said Bahreini.

Nor is there any question of filing a complaint with the International Court of Justice (ICJ). “International organisations have become useless, particularly in the face of Israel’s crimes,” the ambassador added.

On Tuesday, the Iranian diplomat criticised the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk for not reacting firmly enough to the “crime of aggression” suffered by Iran. The ambassador said he is convinced that only Iran can stop the violations of international law of which it accuses the Jewish state.

No decision yet on NPT

Some politicians and Iranian officials are also discussing the country’s possible withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) because the agreement “is no longer credible”. “The decision will be announced by our government. It is premature,” said the ambassador.

Tehran insists that it does not want nuclear energy for military use. All stages of uranium enrichment have always been accompanied by a “technical, economic or technological” explanation, notably to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), says Bahreini.

“There is no legal instrument preventing Iran from developing nuclear energy for peaceful reasons,” he added. “Iran has the right to do so” and has learned, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic, not to rely on its neighbours or other countries “for what it needs”,” he said.

For the moment, the Israeli offensive on several nuclear sites has not led to any concerns about radiation for the population. The anti-aircraft defence systems have worked well, insists the ambassador. But no guarantees can be given on this issue, he added. Iran has also promised not to close the Strait of Hormuz to traffic in retaliation for the recent offensives.

Translated from French by DeepL/sb

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