Raisi to Guterres: UN Should Be Organization of Nations Rather than Organization of Powers

Raisi made the remarks in a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday on the sidelines of the 77th United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Referring to the current crises in some countries of the region, the Iranian president considered the solution of all of them to be the formation of national dialogues without foreign interference and stated that it is necessary for the United Nations to play a more serious role against unilateralist behaviors.

Raisi called Iran a friend in difficult times for its neighbors, citing the Islamic Republic’s humanitarian actions in providing shelter to Afghan immigrants and also serious fight against terrorism.

“On the other hand, the result of NATO and America in our region has been war, destruction, occupation, and murder.”

Emphasizing Iran’s support for regional dialogues to resolve issues between countries, the Iranian president called on the UN Secretary-General to implement justice.

Antonio Guterres, for his part, appreciated the continuous actions of the Islamic Republic of Iran in providing shelter to Afghan refugees and called Iran’s role in the Yemeni ceasefire praiseworthy, Merhr news agency reported.

“US withdrawal from the nuclear agreement was an unconstructive and very disappointing act,” he added elsewhere in his remarks.

Guterres considered Iran’s initiative to create a framework for regional dialogues as constructive and supported by the United Nations.

Affirming the positions of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the issue of human rights, he said that human rights should not be used as a tool of war against countries.

The UN chief also expressed dissatisfaction with the non-suspension of sanctions against Iran despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Iran has an old civilization and is an indispensable and undeniable part of today’s world, and the considerations of the Islamic Republic of solving the problems of Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Afghanistan by their people are sound and reasonable.”