Iran Envoy: US Mocks Int'l Law by Violating the 2231 Resolution

Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting on Friday to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, Takht-Ravanchi said that multilateralism is facing many challenges and needs to be addressed to strengthen the rule of law, international cooperation, and interaction.

The full text of the Iranian envoy's speech at the UNSC meeting is as follows:

The main lesson humanity has learned from World War II is "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. We have only one choice, that is to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations … [under] international law can be maintained".

Accordingly, through the Charter, we agreed that such a noble objective can best be realized if "we live together in peace … as good neighbors, develop friendly relations, settle … disputes by peaceful means, refrain … from the threat or use of force, achieve international cooperation in solving international problems, and employ international machinery for the … advancement of all peoples".

Consequently, "we established the United Nations as a center for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends".

This was promoted by developing a great number of international instruments and institutions that form the current multilateral system, which proved that, while not ideal and perfect, but is the only available tool at our disposal.

However, today, all those lessons learned and achievements gained are at high risk and, as the UNSG rightly puts it, the “world order is increasingly chaotic", democratic principles are under siege”;  “the rule of law is being undermined”;  and “multilateralism is under fire precisely when we need it most”.

Therefore, our most urgent and key question today is how to address the challenges of multilateralism.

The illegal unilateral actions of the U.S., with its excessive addiction to sanctions and economic terrorism as well as its policy to withdraw from international instruments and institutions, are alarming.

One of the living examples of the systematic mockery of international law is the violation of the Council’s resolution 2231 by the U.S. which is brazenly threatening others to either violate that resolution or face punishment.

Such bullying policies and unlawful practices are growingly eroding the pillars of multilateralism, tarnishing the credibility of this Organization and mainly the Security Council.

To conclude, today, multilateralism is not only an option, but it is also the only option. There is no magic solution or alternative; as challenges such as coronavirus do not recognize boundaries and thus cannot be managed with one country or certain countries alone, no matter how powerful they are.

Let’s be united in pursuing the common goods of all states and in promoting true multilateralism founded on inclusion instead of exclusion; cooperation in place of confrontation; and the rule of law instead of the rule of power.