Iran calls US ‘self-defence’ justification for strikes a distortion of international law
Iranian media reported that the government wrote to the UN formally condemning the US for its recent strikes on nuclear facilities and rejecting its “self-defence” justification for the attacks.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that in the letter, Iran’s representative to the UN rejected Washington’s attempts to justify its strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities as an act of self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
He said Iran denounced the explanation as a “blatant distortion” of international law and the UN’s Charter, saying the attacks were a violation of Tehran’s sovereignty, and contravened principles governing the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
In remarks to a UN Security Council briefing on non-proliferation and Iran on Tuesday, acting US Ambassador Dorothy Shea said the “precision operation” against Iran’s nuclear sites was carried out “in accordance with the inherent right to collective self-defense, consistent with the UN Charter”.
And actual self-defense is called retaliation... The UNSC is corrupt and pointless. It has become a mere tool for the veto holders to do whatever they want with total impunity.
New normalisation agreements would send chilling message to Arab world
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Mohamad Elmasry, a professor of media studies at Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, said it was “unthinkable” that new normalisation agreements between Israel and other Arab countries could be reached with the war in Gaza still raging.
“To say this would be the wrong message to send, not only to the Palestinians, but to Arabs in the Arab world, I think would be an understatement,” Elmasry said.
The US and Israel have indicated new agreements could soon be announced, with reports indicating Syria and Lebanon are top possibilities.
“The message is that Israel can beat Arab states into submission. And, you know, these Arab states will effectively reward Israel by normalising with them,” he said.
