Iran condemns US-backed UN resolution on Strait of Hormuz

Iran has sharply criticised Washington’s reported attempt to push a draft resolution on the Strait of Hormuz through the UN Security Council, describing it as an effort to distort facts and protect what it called the real aggressors.

In a statement posted on X late on Monday, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi said the United States, together with some regional allies, was once again trying to “shift the terms of the issue” by portraying the consequences of what he described as military aggression and an illegal siege as accusations against Iran itself, News.Az reports, citing Iran's English-language Press TV.

“‘Freedom of navigation’ is a respected legal principle, but it cannot be interpreted selectively, politically, and detached from the United Nations Charter,” Gharibabadi wrote.

The senior Iranian diplomat said any genuine initiative on maritime security in the region could not ignore what he called the repeated use of force, the imposition of a naval blockade, ongoing threats, and the direct role of the United States and Israel in creating the current crisis.

Gharibabadi argued that the central issue was not the passage of ships “in a vacuum”, but attempts by certain governments to recast the consequences of their own actions in the language of “international order”.

“Such an approach contributes neither to de-escalation, nor to maritime security, nor to the credibility of multilateral mechanisms,” he said.

He added that any resolution that addressed the situation in the Strait of Hormuz without explicitly referring to aggression, siege, threats of force, and Iran’s right to defend its security and national interests “will be flawed, biased, political, and doomed to failure from the outset”.

According to Press TV, Gharibabadi’s remarks came after Washington reportedly held closed-door talks with several Persian Gulf states last week to promote the draft resolution.

The proposed US text reportedly calls on Iran to immediately halt what it describes as “attacks” in the Strait of Hormuz and warns of further sanctions and possible authorisation of force if Tehran fails to comply.

Iran has repeatedly insisted that its actions in the strategic waterway are defensive responses to what it describes as years of US and Israeli provocations, sanctions, and efforts to militarise the Persian Gulf.

Iranian officials also argue that the main threat to freedom of navigation comes from Washington’s military presence in the region and its support for Israel’s policies, according to Press TV.

News.Az