Geneva: On Friday, Pakistan called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) emergency session to urgently intervene and facilitate a peaceful solution to intensify the Iran-Israel conflict.
“This is a central moment,” Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, a permanent representative of Pakistan, said in the debate, and called on the Council to fulfill its responsibilities by promoting dialogue and diplomacy in accordance with the UN -Charter to prevent further regional instability.
The emergency meeting was convened by Guyana – who has the Council Presidency for June – and supported by Pakistan, among other things, in the midst of the ongoing war between Iran and Israel.
Since Friday, Israel has launched major strikes on Iran and targeted at military bases, nuclear locations and residential areas across the country.
The attacks have killed at least 224 people in the Islamic Republic, including top military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. Iran retrieved with barriers of drones and missiles that have killed at least 25 people in Israel, according to authorities.
Iran does not recognize Israel and has long accused it of having performed sabotage operations against its nuclear facilities as well as murdering its researchers.
Ambassador Asim said in today’s debate that continuing deadly Israeli strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities and other goals have “worsened” regional tensions and threatened peace and security.
“Dialogue and diplomacy in full compliance with the principles of international law and the UN -Charter remains the only viable path to resolve the crisis,” he said, adding, “Military means and coercion cannot cause a lasting settlement.”
Unfortunately, he said, Israeli illegal strikes against Iran came at a time of intensive diplomatic commitment to Iran’s nuclear issues, emphasizing that these illegal acts must not be allowed to scutle that dialogue.
“The parties must quickly return to the negotiations, which is the only viable means of reaching a sustainable agreement on the Iranian nuclear program,” said Pakistani envoy, noting that the United States’ willingness to keep the door of negotiations open.
“We hope that the diplomatic efforts and engagements will bear fruit.”
From the beginning, the Pakistani envoy condemned the Israeli strikes that began on June 13 and said these strikes violated Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. “Pakistan strongly condemns the unjustified and uneven aggression of Israel. We are in solidarity with the people of Iran,” he said.
“We offer our sincere compassion and sympathy with the fraternal people in Iran about the loss of life as a result of these unprovoked attacks,” he said, adding that the subsequent humanitarian and civilian toll is “regrettable.”
“The latest crisis has worsened the existing tensions in the region derived from Israel’s continued reckless assault on Gaza, which has resulted in an unprecedented humanitarian disaster for the innocent Palestinians as well as its recurring violations of international law in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen,” he added.
The attacks against nuclear facilities for peaceful purposes are contrary to international law, the charter of the UN, the Statute of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and relevant IAEA General Conference Solutions on the question, he said.
During the debate, Ambassador ITIKHAR Councilly called for categorically reject and condemn Israel’s attack on Iran since June 13; Play its proper role in ending the hostilities and promoting de-peeling to achieve a comprehensive ceasefire before the situation spirals out of control and threaten the peace and stability throughout the region; It is clear to condemn the targeting towards IAEA-Safeguarded nuclear facilities; and call for dialogue and diplomacy to promote peaceful settlement.
“Diplomacy must have a chance,” the Pakistani envoy concluded.
‘Give peace a chance’
Opening the debate, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the extension of the Iran-Israel conflict could “ignite a fire that no one can control” and called both pages and potential parties to the conflict to “give peace a chance.”
Representatives from Israel and Iran later acted on angry accusations at the same UN Security Council meeting where Israel promised not to stop his attacks.
The leader of the UN Nuclear Watchdog Agency, meanwhile, warned that attacks on nuclear facilities could result in “radioactive releases with major consequences within and beyond borders” of the state attacked and called for maximum restraint.
Guterres said there were “moments when the directions taken not only form the fate of the nations, but potentially our collective future”.
“This is such a moment,” he said, adding that the conflict must not be allowed to expand.
“For the parties to the conflict, the potential parties to the conflict and to the Security Council as a representative of the international community, I have a simple and clear message: give peace a chance,” Guterres said.
The Security Council Session took place when European Foreign Ministers met their Iranian counterpart on Friday in the hope of testing Tehran’s readiness to negotiate a new nuclear deal despite the soon -to -be -small prospect of Israel’s attacking.
Israel has repeatedly bombed nuclear goals in Iran, as it sees as components of an arms program, and Iran has fired missiles and drones against Israel as a week’s old air war escalated with no signs of an exit strategy from each side.
The White House said Thursday that US President Donald Trump would make a decision within the next two weeks whether to get involved on Israel.
Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. It said on Friday that it would not discuss the future of the program while Israel was attacked, which is largely believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not confirm or deny this.
Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said Iran would continue to defend himself against Israeli attacks, while his Israeli colleague Danny Danon promised: “We will not stop. Not until Iran’s nuclear threat is dismantled, not until its war machine is disarmed, not until our people and yours are safe.”
The US ambassador to the United Nations, Dorothy Camille Shea, said the United States “continues to stand with Israel and support his actions against Iran’s nuclear ambitions.”
“We can no longer ignore that Iran has everything it needs to achieve a nuclear weapon,” she said.
China and Russia demanded immediate shell.
Russia’s UN Ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya, said that Israel’s actions risked drawing third countries into the conflict and internationalization of the conflict must be avoided.
He said targeting what he called Iran’s peaceful civilian nuclear facilities was “responsible for throwing us into a hit to unseen nuclear disaster.”
– With additional input from Reuters
