Israel Urges UN Security Council to Hold Emergency Meeting Following Iran Attack

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan has submitted a letter to the UN Security Council on Saturday, April 13, 2024, calling for an emergency meeting following Iran's attack on Israel. Erdan sent the letter to Vanessa Frazier, the Permanent Representative to the UN representing Malta as the Security Council President for April 2024. Erdan also sent a similar letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

"I urge the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting and demand condemnation of Iran's attack on Israel and designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization," Erdan said in a statement to X.

Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles towards Israel on Saturday night, April 13, 2024, in the first direct attack by the Islamic Republic on the Jewish state. The attack triggered sirens across the country on Sunday morning as the Israeli military attempted to intercept Iran's projectiles.

The country had vowed retaliation since April 1 when Israeli warplanes allegedly bombed an Iranian consulate complex in Damascus, Syria, killing seven IRGC military officers, including two senior commanders. Israel neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the consulate attack.

Erdan described Iran's attack as a serious threat to global peace and security, hoping the Security Council would "take all means to take concrete action" against Iran.

According to a schedule released on Saturday night, April 13, 2024, the UN Security Council will convene at the request of Erdan on Sunday, April 14, 2024, at 16:00 local time at its headquarters in New York, USA. In his letter, the Israeli diplomat mentioned the number of shots from Iran previously disclosed by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari, which were more than 200 drones and missiles. He argued that this "clearly violates" the UN Charter and international law.

"Iran also openly takes pride in the attack. The attack is a serious and dangerous escalation," he wrote to Frazier.

Erdan assessed that Iran continues to violate its international obligations, saying that the Islamic Republic has violated more than one Security Council resolution with this latest attack and with the transfer of weapons to its ally, the Hezbollah group.

"Iran has been the architect of instability for years, through Hamas, Houthis, Hezbollah, and other proxies. But now they stand in front and center in their actions to fulfill their ambition to attack Israel," he said.

He also discussed the recent seizure by the IRGC navy on Saturday of an Israeli-affiliated ship near the Strait of Hormuz. The ship named MSC Aries flies the Portuguese flag and is linked to an Israeli billionaire through the London-based Zodiac Maritime company. Zodiac Maritime is part of the Zodiac Group owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer.

"Iran is a direct threat to international peace, and by boldly violating the UN Charter and Security Council resolutions. The time has come for the Security Council to take real action against the Iranian threat," Erdan said in his letter.

Meanwhile, Iran claims the right to self-defense as provided in Article 51 of the UN Charter. The Iranian Foreign Ministry said they launched the attack to defend themselves against "repeated Israeli military aggression" resulting in the deaths of Iranian military advisors in Syria.

"Iran reaffirms its commitment to the goals and principles of the UN Charter, international law, while reiterating its determination to firmly defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national interests against the use of force and aggression in violation of the law," the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in X.

NABIILA AZZAHRA

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News