“The symbolic move by the US to send humanitarian aid is a ridiculous and at the same time a bitter show,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said during a weekly press conference in Tehran on Monday.
“On one hand, they prevent the cessation of war by vetoing UN Security Council resolutions, and on the other hand, they try to improve their warmongering image in the eyes of the world public by dispatching humanitarian assistance in a symbolic and ridiculous way.”
He was referring to the US vetos of UN Security Council resolutions on a ceasefire in war-ravaged Gaza on three different occasions.
Kanaani said that the world is now fully aware of the US’s role in creating and prolonging the Gaza war, and the public opinion will not change by such symbolic moves.
He also censured the international community for its “painful inaction” to bring an end to the Israeli regime’s war on Gaza.
“More than five months into the brutal attacks by the Zionists, we are unfortunately witnessing a completely painful inaction by the international community, especially the United Nations and the Security Council whose main tasks are to ensure international peace and security.”
The Security Council has failed to fulfill its duty in the wake of Washington’s political and military support to the Israeli regime and the US use of its veto power, the Iranian diplomat added.
OIC failed to halt Israeli genocide in Gaza: Kanaani
The spokesman also said that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was expected to utilize its available tools to put pressure on the Israeli regime and play a key role in halting the Gaza onslaught, “but unfortunately, we are not witnessing such a move.”
However, he continued, “We hope to see a more active role by Islamic states on the verge of the holy month of Ramadan.”
Kanaani further said Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian presented Iran’s proposals at the OIC meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, adding that if they are implemented, changes will definitely occur in the Gaza war.
Referring to the designation of the last Friday of Ramadan as International Quds Day by the late founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khamenei, Kanaani predicted extensive support from across the globe for the Palestinian cause on the occasion this year.
The important occasion will be held magnificently in Iran and throughout the world, he asserted.
According to the spokesman, Iran attaches importance to the issue of delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza and will spare no efforts in this respect whenever it is possible.
The Israeli regime, he went on, is using hunger as a war mechanism against the residents of the Gaza Strip, and international entities such as the International Court of Justice and the United Nations must pay close attention to this issue.
UN Human Rights Council being sacrificed for political goals, spokesman warns
Commenting on certain anti-Iran moves on the pretext of human rights violations, Kanaani said such “vindictive moves” are aimed at reviving last year’s unrest in the country.
This can be seen as sacrificing the UN Human Rights Council for political purposes, he stated, adding that those countries are abusing the issue of human rights to exert political pressure against independent countries.
He further rebuked such moves as a warning call to all independent states.
Iran has never kneeled before the wishes of the bullies, the spokesman said.
He also argued that those behind such moves have a dark history of human rights violations, including waging world wars and using weapons of mass destruction and nuclear weapons.
And today, Kanaani hastened to add, they are standing by the side of the Israeli regime in its extensive crimes against the oppressed people of Gaza, a regime that has been charged with committing genocide at the Internationa Court of Justice.
“Those countries should take a look at their own human rights record instead of making accusations against Iran,” he noted.
Iran in full cooperation with IAEA: Kanaani
On the quarterly session of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) held on March 6, the Iranian spokesman said Tehran is in full cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog.
He said “unfounded and non-technical decisions” have no impact on the Islamic Republic’s determination to continue its cooperation with the IAEA, stressing that the country will continue its peaceful nuclear program under the Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA.
Kanaani also referred to negotiations between Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani and European Union officials, saying that such talks are always on the agenda and cover bilateral as well as regional and international issues.
The most recent talks were held on March 8, which the spokesman said included discussions on the removal of sanctions.
“We are committed to the negotiating table. In the path of negotiations, if the other side is ready, issues can be assessed so that they also return to their obligations under the agreements,” Kanaani said in reference to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, from which the US unilaterally withdrew in 2018.
On Iran’s foreign policy achievements, the spokesman said that the country has taken good steps in establishing constructive ties with friendly countries and those willing to have relations with Iran.
He explained that Iran worked on new fields of cooperation with some countries, while working on de-escalating tensions with others.
In terms of establishing security as well as political and economic stability, the Islamic Republic took serious steps and will continue the same path during the next Iranian year that will begin on March 20, he added.
‘Iranian nation has greatly suffered from US sanctions’
On the illegal US sanctions against Iran, Kanaani said Washington has hypocritically claimed on different occasions that it had not imposed sanctions on the Iranian people, but this is “a baseless lie”.
The spokesman noted that the Iranian nation has suffered enormously from the repercussions of sanctions for several years, including Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) patients who have not been able to receive their medicines due to the US-imposed sanctions.
Many countries, he hastened to add, refuse to provide Iran with special medicines because they are afraid of the US sanctions.
Iran’s foreign minister visited some EB patients and closely became familiar with their sufferings, Kanaani noted, expressing regret that some of the patients lost their lives due to lack of special EB dressings.
‘Sweden jeopardized ties with Iran by siding with terrorists’
Asked about the latest developments concerning the fate of an Iranian national who has been imprisoned in Sweden for years, Kanaani said the Foreign Ministry will make all-out diplomatic and legal efforts to persuade the Swedish government to release Hamid Nouri from jail.
Iran sees the ruling of the Swedish Court of Appeal as unacceptable because it wrongfully upheld the verdict of the previous court, he stated.
Unfortunately, the Swedish judiciary system jeopardized the European country’s longstanding ties with Iran when they sided with a terrorist group, which had urged them to detain and try the Iranian national, Kanaani added.
Spokesman: Israel must be expelled from UN Commission on Status of Women
Elsewhere in his presser, Kanaani said that the Zionist regime must be expelled from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
Iran has put forward the proposal as the regime has killed over 9,000 Palestinian women during five months, he said.
He said this can be a yardstick to fact-check the claims of the so-called advocates of women’s rights.
The Zionist regime keeps attacking Palestinians in the Gaza Strip because the international community has not used its powers to put an end to the war, Kannani stated.
No one would witness these crimes if they utilized their power to this end, he underlined.
‘Red Sea tensions linked to Palestine issue’
Also, Kanaani said the ongoing tensions in the Red Sea are closely linked to the situation in Palestine.
“Unfortunately, due to the Zionist regime’s warmongering policy and US support for it, we have witnessed more than five months of turmoil in the Red Sea,” he said.
The Ansarullah fighters have no intention of making the Red Sea and shipping insecure, he said, adding that the United States is paying attention to the effect rather than addressing the cause.
The measures by the US and its allies will ramp up insecurity and instability in the region, he further noted.
Kanaani also advised the US to examine the foot of the crisis instead of leveling accusations against others and paying attention to the consequences of the war.
The United States can use its capacity to halt the war instead of resorting to futile actions, he noted.
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