US veto of Gaza resolution shows UNSC inability to fulfill duties: Iran

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani has criticized the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for its failure to help stop the Gaza war in the wake of a recent US veto of a ceasefire resolution, saying that the veto is a sign of a deadlock at the Council.

“The Security Council has failed to fulfill its duty to ensure international peace and security and prevent war and has done nothing at this critical stage. The US veto shows an impasse in the UNSC and its inability to do its duty,” the spokesman said on Monday at his weekly press briefing in Tehran, IRNA reports.

Iran believes that the UNSC should have a more democratic structure and should act in a more effective way when it comes to ensuring international peace and security, Kanaani added. 

He described as regrettable the US veto of the resolution that was submitted on Friday by the UAE following a move by UN Chief Antonio Guterres to invoke the rarely used Article 99 of the United Nations Charter and his call on the Security Council to unite in averting a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza.

Kanaani once again expressed Iran’s gratitude over the “responsible act” by the UN chief to raise the attention of the Security Council to the Gaza war and criticized the US government for refusing to heed the call by Guterres and the international community for a stop to Israel’s brutal attacks on Gaza.

The American government showed that it is against the international community and has no fear of being the sole supporter of the Israeli regime, the spokesman said.

He added that the US veto indicated that Washington has not only voted down the stop of the war but it has also voted for “the continuation of barbarism against the innocent Palestinian nation."