Iran warned of an “uncontrollable explosion” in the Middle East if the United States continues to support Israel in the war it is waging in the Gaza Strip, following Washington’s use of its veto power against a draft resolution in the UN Security Council.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said in a phone call with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, “As long as America supports the crimes of the Zionist regime and the continuation of the war… there is a possibility of an uncontrollable explosion in the situation in the region,” according to a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry on Saturday.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry’s statement came after the United States used its veto yesterday against a draft resolution in the UN Security Council calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip.
13 of the 15 member states in the Council voted in favor of the draft resolution proposed by the UAE, and it received the support of dozens of countries not members of the Security Council, and international and humanitarian organizations.
On the other hand, the United Kingdom abstained from voting, while the United States (supporting Israel) opposed the project and used its veto, leading to its cancellation.
Article 99
On Wednesday, Guterres sent a message to the Security Council in which he used Article 99 of the Charter of the United Nations, which allows him to “draw the attention” of the Council to a file that “could endanger international peace and security,” in the first activation of this article in decades.
Abdullahian told Guterres, “Using Article 99 is a courageous act on your part to maintain peace, and is supported by international public opinion.”
The Iranian minister stressed that “the Israelis’ assertion” that “Hamas violated” the truce that ended on December 1 is “completely false.”
Today, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani condemned the United States’ use of its veto, stressing that the American government is an accomplice in the crimes of the “Zionists,” according to the Iranian Fars News Agency on its website.
Kanaani added that America and the “occupying entity” bear responsibility for the repercussions of any expansion of the war in the region.
