AhlulBayt News Agency: Iran’s top diplomat warned Sunday that international law is facing an unprecedented assault, blaming the US and its allies for undermining global legal norms in favor of a “force-based” order driven by Western interests.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made the remarks at a conference entitled “International Law under Assault: Aggression and Defense” that was opened on Sunday morning at the Institute for Political and International Studies, affiliated with Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Addressing diplomats, scholars, and legal experts at the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s Center for Political and International Studies, Araghchi said that despite the 80th anniversary of the UN, when commitment to universal legal principles should have been stronger than ever, international law is facing an “all-out assault” by revisionist powers.
"Today, we stand before a truth that can no longer be ignored or left unspoken: international law is under attack. The world faces profound challenges, alarming trends, and unprecedented strategic shifts at multiple levels," he stressed.
He emphasized that the current situation is the result of anti-international-law trends that over recent years, have been pursued by the United States and some of its allied states in favor of a Western-centric order, under the slogan of a “rules-based international order” instead of a “law-based international order.”
"In practice, the so-called rules-based order has been interpreted and applied according to the transient, seasonal intentions, goals, programs, and interests of Western countries, primarily against international law, and, in the most selective manner, has been used as a tool by the hubristic hegemonic ambitions of the United States and the West.
"Regrettably, the countless warnings and admonitions of top international figures and countries, including those from the Global South, regarding the necessity of returning to an international law based on universality, equality, and the rejection of coercion and discrimination, have gone unheeded. As a result, today, even discussion of the rules-based order is diminishing, and in practice, we are witnessing efforts by the United States and some of its allies to construct a “force-based international order.”
Elsewhere in his remarks, Araghchi said that Donald Trump entered the White House with the doctrine of peace through strength but it did not take long before it became clear that this doctrine was, in fact, a code name for an operation and a cover for a new framework of action: “hegemony through force."
He underlined that the West Asia region, as one of the most internationally connected regions in the world, is the primary victim of this tragic situation, and its developments are directly influenced by the trends mentioned above. In fact, the developments in this region, especially over the past two years, fully reflect these dangerous trends that are against peace and international law.
Saying that the Tel Aviv regime, as an agent of the United States in West Asia, pursues its dangerous geopolitical ambitions by attacking the most fundamental principles of international law, he added, "This regime, relying on the blank check of Washington and some European states, emboldened by billions of dollars of NATO and Western weapons and military equipment, and the immunity these countries provide it in international forums, has committed and continues to commit the most heinous crimes against humanity, including massacres, killings, genocide, and ethnic cleansing."
"Over the past two years, this regime has attacked seven countries, occupied new areas in other states including Lebanon and Syria, and shamelessly speaks of rewriting the regional order in West Asia and of a “Greater Israel.” Today, it has become an established fact that no country is safe from the military and security ambitions of the Israeli regime in the West Asia region."
Araghchi reminded that the Israeli regime, acting under the full guidance of the United States, launched a sudden strike on June 13 on Iran, just two days before the sixth round of nuclear negotiations set to be held in Muscat, striking diplomacy and the possibility of reaching an agreement through peaceful means.
"The Zionist regime’s aggression against Iranian territory, resulting in the killing of a number of civilians, the targeted assassination of commanders in their homes, and attacks on peaceful nuclear facilities, not only violates the most fundamental principles of international law and multiple provisions of the UN Charter, but also constitutes a full-scale assault on the non-proliferation and safeguards regime," Araghchi said.
He went on to say that the Islamic Republic of Iran, exercising its legitimate right to self-defense over its territory and people against an unlawful aggression, not only stopped the aggressors but, with the severe blows it delivered, demonstrated that although the Iranian nation is a peace-loving people, in times of war it stands firm until the end and makes the aggressor regret their actions.
"Everyone witnessed how, within just nine days, the message of 'unconditional surrender' was transformed into a call for 'unconditional ceasefire,' and the initial delusions about the Iranian nation and its system were dispelled," he reminded.
The conduct of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as one of the founding members of the United Nations, has always been fully consistent with international law. Iran’s nuclear program is fundamentally based on our recognized rights under Article 4 of the NPT. The development of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, is an inalienable right of the Iranian nation—a right we have never abandoned. For years, Iran has been fully subject to the most comprehensive IAEA verification regime and has adhered to all technical obligations.
Following the 2015 nuclear agreement, the Islamic Republic of Iran fully complied with its commitments under the JCPOA and UN Security Council Resolution 2231, as confirmed by fifteen consecutive IAEA reports. It was the United States that unilaterally withdrew from this agreement without any justification, not Iran. Had the United States adhered to its commitments under the JCPOA, we would be in a completely different situation today.
The top Iranian diplomat stressed that following the 2015 nuclear agreement, Teran fully complied with its commitments under the JCPOA and UN Security Council Resolution 2231, as confirmed by fifteen consecutive IAEA reports. "It was the United States that unilaterally withdrew from this agreement without any justification, not Iran. Had the United States adhered to its commitments under the JCPOA, we would be in a completely different situation today."
He said that Iran’s response to the aggression of Israel and the United States was carried out entirely in accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, that is, the inherent right of self-defense. "Our defensive operations were designed in full compliance with the principles of necessity, proportionality, and distinction between military and non-military targets."
"Even at the peak of threat and aggression, Iran adhered to the norms of international humanitarian law. Unlike the Israeli regime, which massacres hundreds of civilians under the slightest pretext, none of Iran’s actions targeted residential areas or civilians. The Islamic Republic of Iran has demonstrated that in all crises and conflicts, it acts within the framework of the law, while the aggressors have trampled the UN Charter, the non-proliferation regime, principles of justice, and even peremptory rules of international law before the eyes of the world."
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