Iran has dismissed as “baseless” the accusations leveled by the United States at the Iranian Armed Forces in a bid to justify its recent illegal airstrikes on Iraq and Syria.
In a letter sent to the rotating president of the Security Council on Tuesday, Iran’s Permanent Ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani responded to anti-Iran claims made by the US in a letter to the 15-member body.
In that letter, read out by US Deputy Envoy to the UN Robert Wood at a UN Security Council meeting on threats to international peace and security on Monday, the US claimed that it had targeted “Iran’s Islamic [Revolution] Guards Corps (IRGC) and affiliated militia groups… in exercise of the inherent right to self-defense, as reflected in Article 51 of the UN Charter.”
Iravani said Article 51 “lacks legal justification and does not legitimize” US military actions that blatantly violated the Iraqi and Syrian territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.
“While categorically rejecting the baseless accusations outlined in the letter concerning Iran’s armed forces, the Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns the military operations carried out by the United States on Iraqi and Syrian territory,” he added.
The US military conducted aerial assaults on Iraq and Syria early on Saturday. Both countries denounced the attacks as infringements on their sovereignty that risk escalating regional tensions.
Nearly 40 people were killed in the air raids that came in response to a drone attack on a US occupation base on Jordan’s border with Syria.
“These unlawful operations deliberately targeted civilians and essential infrastructure, resulting in numerous civilian casualties and injuries,” the Iranian envoy said.
“These illegal actions not only violate international law and the UN Charter, in particular Article 2 (4), but also endanger regional peace and stability and pose a serious threat to international peace and security.”
