A group of Gulf states has called on the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to hold an emergency debate on Iran’s “military aggression” against them.
A diplomatic note was sent by a “coalition of Arab nations” to the council calling for an “urgent” change to its schedule, according to Hilel Neuer, director of human rights NGO UN Watch.
Neuer told the JC: This is a turning point. For the first time, Arab states are leading a charge at the Human Rights Council to condemn Iran. Tehran targeted civilians in blatant attacks on its Arab neighbours, in a bid to make them pressure the US to stop hitting the regime. But the gambit backfired, and now even cautious regional actors are going after Iran on the world stage like never before.
“The Iranian regime is more isolated than ever. As we saw at the Security Council, they have very few allies. The real question is whether the UN Human Rights Council — a body notorious for appeasing terrorist regimes — will take action strong enough to match the gravity of Iran’s aggression, flagrant violations of international law, and war crimes targeting civilians."
The note specifically mentions Iranian action against seven states: Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE
Iran has launched a series of strikes against the Gulf powers, particularly those allied to the US, in retaliation for the joint US-Israel military operation aimed at degrading its ballistic missile and nuclear programmes.
However, while it initially primarily targeted US military bases in the region, the Islamic Republic has subsequently expanded its bombardment to critical energy infrastructure, including the world’s largest natural gas production facility in Qatar, as well as civilian areas.
Impacts have been recorded in all of the countries mentioned in the note to the UNHRC, as well as across Israel. Shrapnel even reached northern Syria after one missile was intercepted by Nato air defences as it approached Turkish airspace.
Per Reuters, the UNHRC has received the note and a draft resolution drawn up by its authors condemning Iran and is currently considering a date for a prospective debate.
It comes after Qatar declared the military and security attachés at Iran’s embassy in Doha “persona non grata” following the strike on the Ras Laffan gas plant, which was launched in retaliation for a similar attack by Israel on the South Pars gas field in Iran, which accounts for around 70% of the country’s domestic gas supply.
US President Trump has claimed that neither Washington nor Doha were made aware of the Israeli operation in advance, but admitted that “unfortunately, Iran did not know this, or any of the pertinent facts pertaining to the South Pars attack”.
In the wake of the bombardment, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs delivered an official note to the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the State, stating that Qatar considers both the military attaché and the security attaché at the embassy, in addition to the staff of the two attaché offices ‘persona non grata’, and requests that they leave the country within a maximum period of (24) hours.
“This came during a meeting held Wednesday between His Excellency Director of Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ibrahim Yousif Fakhro, and His Excellency Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the State Ali Salehabadi.
“The ministry explained that this decision comes in response to repeated Iranian targeting and the blatant aggression against the State of Qatar, which violated its sovereignty and security, in a flagrant breach of the principles of international law, United Nations Security Council Resolution No. (2817), and the principles of good neighbourliness.”
It went on: “The ministry stressed that the continuation of this hostile approach by the Iranian side will be met with additional measures by the State of Qatar, in a manner that ensures the protection of its sovereignty, security, and national interests.
“The ministry affirmed that the State of Qatar reserves the right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty and security, in accordance with the provisions of international law.”
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